Rob Kuntz's page

I am heartened to know that your decency extends to knowing, as well, what is simple for me.

This is why the human race disappoints me so. here to ere on the side of surmise once again and thus avoid the confrontation which humans are so good at arranging, especially selfish and seemingly always entitled Americans.

Let me put it bluntly: I do not "owe" you, nor anyone, the process or produce of my time, effort or thoughts.

Game on...

A--

*A passoff mention that Xaene is from another dimension.
Can you comment?*

Yes and no. X is from my World of Kalibruhn. He fled that world--which exists in another part of time and space--to the World of Greyhawk via ultra-magic he'd discovered in the Jungle of Huhm. He was slowly driven insane in the interim and now is a full-fledged madman who saw "the other side" and paid the consequences for this. His first advent in WoG is in 1973 when I constructed his story for the campaign and placed him as a new arrival on the Wild Coast; I then expanded on his madness and quest for power by shuttling him to the Great Kingdom where he became the advisor to King Ivid (Ovar). There are connections to what he found and what separate Maure Family members have found in their own searches into the arcane other-world.

*Can you provide more detail on Lynn, the continent to the
SE?*

No, not much. This was to be based on the WOG map noted in the Dragon Annual (#??) and would have expanded on the Dragon Masters, but that was to be a product through Dungeon... No relation to Marcel's campaign.

*During the cataclysm that caused the downfall, did all
the fiends come from box o' hordlings in the Chamber
of Antiquities?*

One of the sources. But they were not hordlings, then. The box does not relate to a fixed point and has a magical formula for redirectng what it summons and from where. This formula would have been discovered in later installments...

*What language is Slerotin's writings in?*

I imagine Ancient Suel, but your guess is as good as mine...

*Is Power Magic different from Epic?*

I have no idea, as my concepts of archetypal magic vary from those published.

*Could you provide answers to what levels are
connected to what other levels/*

No. That would have been revealed in the mapping of such which I abandoned doing when the project was canceled.

Cheers,

R.

Your wish is just a bit forestalled, but granted!! ;)
Althen, all I will say is that you have come the closest of all in your detective work regarding who or what Y is. Let me ask: Though it is fun to take this route of surmise, would it be as just for me to finally admit to it being so as you state? Is not the story kept alive in even its death throe (as it has been for many years now) even with these tidbits still dangling and enticing you? That MC has become an RPG archeological relic is for certain. All that is left is excavation of what i wrote, and in many cases these things must fail to coincide with each and every separate interpretation as all such history, left to guesswork and scientific inquiry, does. That is the price of partial history pieced together that archeologists seem willing to pay.

Not that I am an entombed king-- I speak and still live. I just have little time left to me to expand on such a piece of EPIC proportions--both in length and in thought due to that--nor would I conclude doing so without a commensurate audience for it or some compensation in return. Such a fatality for fans, I agree. Also think of it like this: for the artist, too, and doubly so. I vested my sweat and blood into the ordeal for it not to see fruition. Whats done is done.

The burden of an unfinished work falls upon those who would finish it (in this case) to advance it to the fandom. I could take an advisory role if that were to happen, if there was momentum among enough fans to finish the whole on their own in a concerted and serious effort. Barring this, the sands of time have won another bout with us.

Happy Gaming (and sleuthing).

Uncle RJK

Ok, Tobus asked me to post an anectdote from the past, so here's an encounterI DMed for EGG. I include this in my upcoming product, Castle El Raja Key.

****

You hear footsteps to the east.”

“We beat it north and stop to listen...”

“The footsteps recede to the south.”

“Huh? We go back to the four-way...”

“You hear footsteps to the west.”

“We run back north and stop to listen.”

“The footsteps move off to the east.”

“Heh? We go back to the four-way...”

“You hear footsteps to the south.”

“We run north and prepare for battle!”

“The footsteps enter the four-way and proceed north, right past your position.”

“What do we see!?”

“Nothing...”

EGG’s encounter with the Four-way Footsteps on Tier #1 of CERK, 1973.
***

Tharizdun seems to be a reasonable assumption, however I think it might be a little more esoteric. The modules talk about the City of the Elders, which to me shouts out Cthulhu mythos. Granted Tharizdun is very Cthulhuiod. If we look deeper though in Lords of Madness chapter 2: The Deep Masters, page 28, written by James Jacobs we discover that the Elder Evils have a diety named Y'chack who could be either Nyarlathotep or Hastur. Could these Elder Evils be From the City of the Elders? Nyarlathotep in particualr would be an awsome patron to the Maure family.

I suggest those interested in exposing this mystery read the Greater Halls again, and very carefully, especially all those entries dealing with Dalt.

RJK

Uncle, out of curiousity, roughly how many additional dungeon levels are there of Maure Castle, yet to be chronicled by your distinguished self?

Hi Allen.

Without looking I'd say 9-10 to finish the work, plus maybe some specials I had in mind, but the latter would be side adventures/planar extensions leading from the Castle and not part of the internal dungeon structure.

But let me recount and get back with a real number. :)

Though I have already posted the url for the new MC page/material in another thread in these forums, as this was the original thread where it was first anoounced I am also cross-poting it here. The page is ready, I have the Cavalier stats for Nasht (just sent by a fan) for 1E so these no doubt will be posted tommorow. We will clean up any mistakes and add content as time permits, but in between please enjoy. :)

RJK

http://www.pied-piper-publishing.com/index.php/RobsWork/maure_casle

That is good news! As always, the Oerth Journal steps up to do their part in keeping Greyhawk alive!

Just out of curiousity, I've long assumed that the Editorial staff at Dungeon always did the lion's share of the work when it came to the 3.5 game mechanics in the Maure Castle adventures, while Mr. Kuntz provided the bulk of everything else. Does anyone know if this is the case?

I'd like to emphasize the fact that Rick Miller was kind enough to also

There are currently 4 stupendous folks and/or organizations doing the 3.5 conversions of my 1E AD&D mss for it, so there should be no problem with rules continuity. I am admittedly not conversant with the 3.5 rules system. Dungeon did the conversion work for my previously submitted mss, with an eye to maintaining the flavor of the originals whenever possible, and James Jacobs actually did a fine job on that score, for sure.

We are just about ready to launch the new MC page at Pied Piper, late today or possibly tomorrow. The first installment will be the 6,000 word article, "The Mysterious Maure," which I wrote in 1999. It has been updated with 3.5/1e stats for a really nasty NPC who is mentioned therein, and we have had the fine artist Eric Bergeron (his work is known through Mongoose and Silven as well) render an illustration of him.

In all I look forward to continuing the Maure Castle storyline which we brought to the fans back in 2004. It's a great story I don't want to let go and feel that I can continue expanding on until the cows come home. And the encouragement and support of the fandom for MC as here represented (and elsewhere) is where I will draw my energy and creativity from for crafting it. So I thank you all in advance for that! :)

RJK

Yup, my guess is Tharizdun. I figure I may as well go on with my little theory now. And on the off chance that I'm right...

******Spoilers Ahead******

So why T? I think I remember reading a post by Rob mentioning that Tharizdun might have a role in Maure Castle. And really, as the Maures are a bunch of psychopaths anyway, who better to be their patron than the King Psychopath?

**Yes, and psycopath's of the cosmic variety--they had far wandering imterests.**

Tharizdun's symbol is described as "A black triangle with an inverted yellow Y inscribed within". A "Y" you say? Maybe like the "Y" that all those wizards seem so interested in? I've always seen T's symbol as that chaotic swirly thing, but I guess that's actually the Elder Elemental Eye's symbol (which makes sense, as the EEE is Tharizdun's less-crazy alter ego).

**Ah-huh...**

Tharizdun is trapped in a prison demiplane. It's been pretty well established that he isn't going anywhere without some serious help. So who better to help bust him out than Dalt, "The Opener of Ways"? The kid is a divine lockpick.

**Ah-huh.**

As I recall though, Dalt is a neutral god. He'd never willingly unleash something as dangerous and evil as T. So if the Maures were to secure his aid, they'd have to deceive him. Hmmm... who do we know that likes to deceive? Here's a hint: he's a 15-foot-tall blue ape demon lord with wings.

**Ah-huh. :)**

Assuming I'm right, here's my interpretation of the four visions the characters see when touching Fraz's portrait:

Perhaps the shadow rising from her?

For all their planning though, the Maures obviously failed. The way I see it, after realizing that her supposed allies allowed a demon lord to possess her, Eluvia became understandable angry. And there's a good chance that the Maures would just dispose of her when she had served her purpose, as she was always a black...

**Not bad, you should be writing mysteries yourself. :)**

Darn quoting stuff wouldnt work.:(

Uncle wrote:

Well, as I wrote the picture description the marks were very distinct, unles James changed these--I will look.

Yes, they're described as claw marks (forgot that while I was typing). That seems to acquit the cleric (though Malcanthet is still a suspect, as she's got claws even though the adventure notes that she prefers that scourge of hers). The funky trident used by the False Bersteck could be the source (I also forgot about Gigantus, who could get lucky with a Dispel Check and has claws, though he doesn't seem a likely candidate).

The Dalt thing has thrown me -- must think more on that. Nice mystery!

Great! Yes, re-read Bersteck (fake) and he's not leaving that room at all. Gigantus is supposedly a pet/servant of (the real) Bersteck and is assumed to have not been inimical to the family members. so...

Yes, it is a nice mystery, not so much left up in the air, but I have been parceling out the bits as I go along. The difficulty in assessing this comes from the fact, as many might start to suspect, that there are several different plots being exposed and twoare major ones. Hint: one was (or still is, perhaps) more or less expected at some point and one was unexpected.

I also suggest you re-read area #12, The Star Room, VERY carefully. And note Besterck's diary entry: "One enters who we do not know... Impossible!" This directly suggests that the family, which seemingly had dealings with just about every demon/devil and or/god in the known area, and certainly with even some off-world ones, was actually confronted by something totally foreign to them, which Bersteck seems to react to with utter astonishment... :)

Thanks for the interest. :)

RJK

Why doesn’t Malcanthet get a portrait? Y hates her, I realize, but half the subjects in the room seem to hate the other half, anyway (Orcus/Demogorgon/Grazz’t, Yeenoghu/Baphomet, etc.)

James answered this in part, but I'll also point out that the family was composed of individuals which had their own distinct powers and allies. When saying that the family had allies, it is only true because, in some cases, one of the individuals had gone the distance in attaining that ally and thus became the family's benefactor in that respect, and probably the one who would act as the family's intermediary with that "ally," the others being known to that Ally as a just faceless "Maure."

Shad-Duan – no mention of this guy anywhere, that I can tell, though given his name and title he may have a connection with the Cult of the Long Shadow. Is he the shadow figure that was attached to the red-haired woman (Wee Jas?)

Try page 93 of DUNGEON #112, Tome of the Black Heart for Sha-Duan.

Th red-haired woman is not Wee-Jas, far from it. The hair color is only a hint at the relationship this woman holds with another not of the family (big hint, note the illos in the issue for this). What is she doing in the picture?

The pit from in the Orcus-portrait vision is, presumably, Elluvia’s Pit noted in Afelbain’s diary back in #112. “Where her creatures will fly to I have no clue” – well, I guess he figured it out.

There are many pits in Hell, I wouldn't get too side-tracked.

The boy (presumably Dalt). But what’s the way he is trying to open? And who’s trying to stop him? The Elders?

Good question! (the First) Keep that up and I will send you a box of Greyhawk Cookies...

Who destroyed Dalt’s portrait?

Another good question! *Starting to bake cookies now*

Hint: Find out who conquered the Maures and you answer this question; as well, who could have made the mark as described on the picture?

What’s Fraz Urb’luu’s connection here? Was he a secret patron of the Maures? Is the lost staff mentioned his? (I’m guessing not – the history doesn’t jibe, as I think his staff was lost after the Maures disappeared). Also, Shad-Duan’s portrait says the staff must be found for “your sire” to return. And Fraz is already back.

Read Besteck's fragmentary notes about the staff in #139. What is Fraz's main attribute in his title? Who was he deceiving? He was obviously an ally of the Maure at one point.

The Elders, who I had written off as a bunch of mysterious dead guys, may still be around. And the Eye of the Elder does something besides its listed abilities

You are correct. As mentioned in #124, the Maure studied items which they had secured from alien lands and planes. Aflebain makes mention in his fragments of maybe securing the Eye from Uncle for study. This obviously came to pass as it no longer occurs on the "Chamber's" level but in the Statuary, so it was moved after the diary entry, eh?

Who’s Ill? And why did the Maures consider her a threat?

What is ILL looking for?

Kerzit gets a painting. That’s more evidence that it was no accident that Eli Tomorast was in Maure Castle with the Tome of the Black Heart. He was following a trail — but to what?

Eli is one of the fist power mongering mages to actively start tracking down the Maure history, let's put it that way. His reasons as to why may be as simple as that but may also expand over time depending on what he finds and if he is able to manipulate same--he's an opportunist, and a very dangerous one, with information now at hand which others do not have...

We will be using the World Serpent Inn extensively in the next Campaign Classics issue of Dragon.

That's not what I was talking about in the editorial, though. :)

--Erik

Let a vet take a guess: A reference to maybe an inn and a tavern, both in the same line...

Let's See...

The "Green Dragon" was a tavern in LotR, correct?...

...And the name of a famous "Inn" in Greyhawk (I should know, my PC, Robilar, owned it in the original campaign).

Just guessing, of course... :)

RJK

Jim Chadwick wrote:

I felt that this adventure was top notch, as well as the previous Maure Castle adventure. One thing, though, was bothering me. There wasn't a lot of treasure involved. I'm not someone who piles treasure onto my players, but I thought that there should be some substantial rewards for braving all the very nasty stuff in the Chamber. While knowledge is perhaps the most valuable reward here, I think some players might be let down.

Actually, there's quite a bit of treasure in there. Not much gold, and not a lot of minor magic items, but there's a lot of really high-end expensive stuff in the Chambers of Antiquities. Including a couple of artifacts.

That said, two places that would make great locations to add in more treasure are inside of Zomph's Menagerie or in the vault in area 43.

I have not seen the issue yet. waiting on comp issues, so I cannot comment too closely.

But this is a place in which very powerful mages felt secure in studying strange, oftentimes, inexplicable artifacts. By that description alone, one can see why there are not a lot of such mundane itemry laying about. They as mages would take their own items with then, even those which they brought here to help with the studies (don't want to leave another family member a goody which can be purloined, heh?). In all, this is a VERY RARE items collection, not one which contained other items of a lesser nature, though there are some useable items:

Robes of Wee Jas (5)
Shoes of Farlanghan (5)
tome of leadership and influence
tome of understanding
manual of bodily health
manual of quickness of action
Scroll 1: 3 arcane spells--Otiluke’s freezing sphere, Bigby’s grasping hand, Bigby’sclenched fist.
Scroll 2: 4 arcane spells--teleport without error, vanish, incendiary cloud, summon monster VII
Scroll 3: 3 divine spells--cure critical wounds, wall of stone, mass heal
robe of transmutation (see Appendix 2)
ring of telekenisis
Potions: Intelligence, protection from elements, acid, remove paralysis.
five dragon eye rings. See Appendix 2, New Magic Items
+2 ring of protection
(3) random miscellaneous magic items (in Zomph's Menagerie)
Several unique and usable items at Key 36
ring of elemental resistance, major

Though some of these may have been dropped or amended.as I did not see the final edit-MS. James Jacobs wrote me twice with questions and minor changes, but no inications that many of the items would ne changed or dropped.

In all, I believe there is a lot of useful stuff in this place.

"Uncle" (Rob Kuntz)

The product isn't even in the pre-announcement stage. It's in the "here's what I'd love to do one day" phase, which is a similar phase to the "wow, I'd love an Audi TT" phase or the "I wish the pretty ones weren't also crazy" phase. In other words, it's just a thought off the top of my head that may never come true.

The way to make a Maure Castle book more likely is to buy the Dungeon and Dragon hardcovers we've already announced when they finally come out later this year. If we can prove there's a market for this type of thing, I'm guessing we'll do a lot more.

--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon

Hail Fellow Adventurers!

I am overjoyed that so many of you (though not your players, maybe, eh?) are enjoying MC.

And yes, I intend on writing many more installments for this unfolding mega-adventure and in fact am work on the "Greater Halls" now, with the Map completely drawn and the major conceptual pieces fleshed out. Lots of fun for an old geezer like me (oops, I turn 50 years of age this September, I guess I'm not under-the-hill yet!).

My kudos to both Erik and James Jacobs for their guiding hands in this project, for without their devotion to it and their long hours of work it would not have happened.

Rob Kuntz