Vacation at Castle Zagyg's Dark Chateau...

Fans of Gary Gygax and Greyhawk have been waiting patiently for the Castle Zagyg series from Troll Lord Games. It is a well-known "secret" that Castle Zagyg is Castle Greyhawk in disguise; in the new version, Zagyg, the mad god who built it, has lent it his name.

Written for the Castles & Crusades game system (which many folks describe as "d20 lite"), Dark Chateau is the second book in the Castle Zagyg series; the Yggsburgh Campaign Setting was the first.

Long before the Archmagi Zagyg moved into the deeps of the great castle that came to bear his name, he took up his dwelling in a house north of the fledgling town of Yggsburgh. There in the Menhir Hills lies the Dark Chateau and the wealth of the Magi's youth, all tokens for the taking if the adventurer be brave and have the fortitude to bury his comrades in the halls of the dead.

I can't wait for this to finally come out.

I can't wait for this to finally come out.

I was curious what your opinion was on the Yggsburgh Campaign Setting, or anybody's opinion for that matter. I haven't seen any reviews here or have yet to hold this in my hands to look at. All opinions would be greatly appreciated. This has made it to my shortlist for Christmas gifts to myself and I was curious what other people have felt. Thanks!

Bump?

I'm also hoping to receive both tomes for Xmas, since I got neither for my November birthday.

There's some good discussion about CZ on Rob Kuntz's Pied Piper boards, as well as various other Greyhawk boards. rpg.net has some good reviews, as well, IIRC.

I'm also hoping to receive both tomes for Xmas, since I got neither for my November birthday.

There's some good discussion about CZ on Rob Kuntz's Pied Piper boards, as well as various other Greyhawk boards. rpg.net has some good reviews, as well, IIRC.

Thanks Grodog. I'll take a look.

Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh is like a ten-times-longer and more involved B2 The Keep on the Borderlands. A great buy for everyone who likes Gary's work.

I got Yggsburgh, and to be honest it didn't have the Gygaxian feel I had anticipated from reading much of Gary's early work. I was particularly disappointed by the anglican names used in the book. Prepare yourself for lots of NPCs named Tom, Dick, and Harry. Some of the playfulness of Gygax's Greyhawk stuff seemed to be absent from the city, and I didn't feel like it had a strong sense of atmosphere, something I came to expect from Gary after "Saga of Old City" and his other novels described Greyhawk so well.

I am eager to give the book a more thorough going over, but I wasn't blown away on my first skim. I am looking forward to the actual Castle Zagyg adventures much more.

I agree somewhat about atmosphere; the atmosphere of the places (that I'm sure is strong in his games) isn't written down as well as in some of his work. That's partly why I think B2 is a good comparison, though Yggsburgh and its surrounds are much more fully and (I think) better described.

I agree partly about the playfulness too. Hall of Many Panes seemed to get most of it instead.

Names are something I'm sensitive to, but comparing Yggsburgh to Gary's earlier work I think his naming has stayed consistent. There's always been a mix of 'fantasy' (sometimes Vanceish) names for adventurers and wizards, and European-type names (and minor variants) for ordinary folk. This is so in the novels, and 'Gnome Cache' (in his other early work, ordinary humans just weren't named most of the time).

It's still a really great book. I don't understand exactly why he wrote it, since people can use the World of Greyhawk (into which Yggsburgh fits quite well south of Greyhawk City) or their own worlds to place the Castle, but I'm glad he did. I'd say it's worth it for the five Gary Gygax dungeons alone.