Expanded Greyhawk Castle

A.k.a. 2nd Castle. This is the redesign of Greyhawk Castle that merged the Old Castle with Levels from Rob Kuntz and his El Raja Key Castle. I'm less interested in this version of the castle, but it is helpful to locate features and levels that belong to it, to separate them out from the original castle and levels. Again, while the maps and keys are the surviving artefacts of the Castle, the real essence of the Great Greyhawk Campaign was the style of play, which unfortunately is ephemeral and only survives in descriptions of old-timers. The time of creation of the Expanded Castle seems to fall to the very end of 1973 [40], so adventure reports from 1974 would already play in the new castle:

When I became co-DM (late 1973) I initially only ran outdoor adventures for a very short time period before taking on the full DM mantle (and for a short time still DMed El Raja Key for those players, Gary and others, who wanted to adventure therein). There were two immediate reasons for this:  1) The 1st Castle Greyhawk was closed for adventuring purposes, except when I felt I could twist Gary’s arm to let Robilar take a solo adventure within it.  As that rarely occurred I finally looked at the levels that had for almost a year challenged me, thus ruining any future chance of adventuring therein again; 2) Gary was hurriedly designing the 2nd Castle Greyhawk at this juncture, so this lead to another complication in that the PCs, most of which had grown in level and had begun adventuring on the outdoor environs, were stranded to that choice alone until he’d finished the design.  During that design period we cannibalized parts of Castle El Raja Key into the newly forming 2nd Castle (this in turn shut out veteran players from choosing to adventure in El Raja Key and it, too, was officially closed). [40]

We suspended play for a week, managed a hasty meshing of my 16 or so level maps wich his, then I drew an 18" x 22" map of the only semi-ruined upper works of the castle, and a like-sized new first level, many smaller new maps to flesh out the scheme. From that massive labyrinth there were stairs leading down to separate stacks of seven dungeon levels each, plus a few side ones, in the north, south, ease, and west--those totaling around 36, and one of those levels were done in colored pencils so as to have a total of seven levels on that single page! At the center of the first level was a well-like staircase chat went down to a ninth level Along the way down the spiral steps there were entries to intervening levels-5, 5.5, 6.5, and 7.5. At the bottom one could then explore the ninth level to discover the means of going deeper, mostly in caves and caverns, all the way to level 30. In addition we devised separate adventure areas reached by magical transference.Three of these which I designed were published as modules by TSR- Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, and Isle of the Ape. Those were the only portions of the setting that I created that were ever done commercially. [7]

Redesigning Original Greyhawk Castle into it's expanded form (or "2nd Castle") between 1973 and 1976, he incorporated seven of his levels from Castle El Raja Key and created 13 all new levels from scratch. In all Rob contributed some 20 levels to the 2nd version of Original Greyhawk Castle, 11 of those to the 15 castle core levels, 2 of those to the 8 west levels, 2 to the 8 east levels, and another 5 special levels (Asgard, Horsing Around, Demonworld, Bottle City, and Oz). In addition to these full levels, Rob also created several memorable locations within the castle such as the legendary Living Room, the prototypical, Garden of the Plantmaster, and the Giant's Pool Hall. [27]

The 2nd castle was 4 quadrants of 8 levels deep each, with all of their level 8s emptying onto level 9 core where access points to the special levels--Horsing Around, Dirdir Level, Isle of the Ape--were located, then proceeding down as I was thereafter mapping them (I got to level 14 which has a a wide down-slant on it to level 18 as well as an outlet (magical) to Asgard). He and I started drawing the Dragon Level, but never imagined where it would be placed in the deeper levels. In essence, it sounds like an arbitrary cut-off point by EGG as when we were creating these there was no discussion whatsoever of any imagined stopping point, so the levels could continue forever, essentially. [35]

The actual number of levels was ascertained as 62 by Paul Stromberg who has access to the original documents: "the larger, expanded castle of 62 levels is intact" [34].

The overall layout of the Expanded Castle dungeons if above is about right it provides about 1 (four-fold) + 4*7 + 11 = 40 levels (Gary mentions it went to 20, even though the Dragon level, given as 18 by Rob is unfinished) for the castle proper, matching Gary's statement of "We had about 40 or so levels, plus side excursion levels reached by transporter locales." [35]. There were at least 12 side levels, which would be about 52 total. 

El Raja Key Archive (ERK) also lists five levels in the range of 2-8 as "Core" which does not fit the for Compass direction scheme, but would get even closer to 62, reducing the gap to 5.  Gary's mention about hidden, central levels along the secret continuation of the central staircase down to level nine could explain these "Core" levels, although their maps do not display a room to fit that cirular staircase

Gary also stated that the Expanded Castle also had multiple levels above ground, which would cover some more of the remaining gap, if the upper works in total had five levels. Alternatively, there might have been a couple more extrdimensional levels.

Using a couple of sheets of 17" x 22" graph paper, I drafted a complete, mostly undamaged castle above ground.  It had multiple levels, and a lot of encounters, the higher up, the more dangerous.  Then, using the same sort of paper I drew a new first level that could accommodate both bands of fledgling adventurers and the initiated.  Four separate descent areas were created with designation by the cardinal directions.  Each had multiple flights of stairways leading lower, some ending several levels farther down.  Three were "guarded" by dungeon denizens - elves, dwarves, a very large and strong ogre.  One descent area only, that most difficult to find, was deserted and free of "charge" by some guardian.  The vast majority of the space, however, was filled with passages, chambers and rooms...

[In Castle Zagyg, the Ogre is a Hill Giant, and the "deserted" area is controlled by the Old Guard Kobolds.]

As was indicated in the Gord short story, "Heart of Darkness", Castle Greyhawk indeed had a fifth descent area.  In the very center of the first level, where most explorers entered via the circular stone steps there, was a hard-to-discover secret entrance to the continuation of that spiral stairway.  It went down all the way to the ninth level, with some side exits along the route accessing some intermediate levels not generally accessible save from this shaft...

The side entrances to the second and lower dungeon levels were basically insular.  That is, each led to a series of seven lower levels that were distinct, so that there was North #2 through #8, East #2 through #8, South #2 through #8, and West #2 through #8...  These sets of levels had few inter-connections, save at the very bottom, where each eighth level had a connection down to the ninth, central, level.

From nine on, the levels of Castle Greyhawk progressed straight down for another dozen or so tiers...  Not surprisingly, a number of these levels also had magical transportation places that sent PCs off to distant lands, other dimensions, strange worlds, or different times.

[Gary Gygax,"Founding Greyhawk", Dragon Annual #2, 1997]

If Gary's Old Levels were incorporated, then this would be another 13 main and 9 side levels, although level 13 was Zagyg's ... not sure how that fit into a neverending stack. Out of 44 main levels (i.e. not extraplanar or special), 15 of these provided by Rob, 29 would have to be provided by Gary, leaving a gap of 7 that he would have had to to create anew, even if he used all of them. Also, while levels 2-8 could easily be tweaked to provide one of the side stacks, and old level 1 could funish another level 2, only one level, 10, in the deeper ranges was not taken by Rob's, so the remainders from level 9-12 either needed to be beefed up, and fill the new level 15-17, or nerfed to be used in the split level range (less likely, I think).

• Above ground (several levels, at least 3)
• It varied of course from one to eight towers but ultimately (c. 1979) it was four "corner" towers and one central tower. The early adventurers blew past the upper ruins eager to get to the mysteries beneath and Gary only went back later to detail them further. [PS]
• Level 1: extra-large shared level with four quadrants. This was essentially the same as the "Storerooms" level from Castle Zagyg, so we have a detail description of what it looked like, even if somewhat embellished, e.g. the Old Guard Kobolds being made much stronger due to Gary's play at conventions with them using the Old Castle)
• The stack under the Dwarves led down mostly to monetary treasure levels
• The stack under the Elves led down mostly to magic item treasure levels
• The stacks under the Giant and Kobolds were not so specific
• Level 2-8: These seven Levels were "split" levels, four stacks of levels. Based on El Raja Key Archive. Even though on that map, the quadrants are  to the NW, NE, SW, SE, they were called N, W, E, S. 
• Core
• Level 2. Invisible Maze. Map and key included in ERK. The level was originally part of Castle El Raja Key and corresponds with Castle El Raja Key Level 2. Was edited by Rob and Gary for use in the Expanded Greyhawk Castle as Core Level 2. In one out of the way corner of this dungeon level is an incredibly deadly invisible maze that almost did Mordenkainen and his companions in for good -- level 
• Level 3. Gem Room and Crypts. Map included in ERK, originally level 4 of Castle ERK. Notable for a room with teleporter trap that ensnared many an adventurer with a carpet of (fake) jewels and a huge crypt with numerous sarcophagi. There is also the Elevator/Slide Trick Room which has the party believing they have gone down just one level when they have actually gone down two or more until the party is much deeper in the castle than they believe they are. It is just a single trick-room on one level of the 2nd Castle but it was a very memorable one and gets mentioned in the lists of Tricks and Traps in Dungeons & Dragons Supplement I: Greyhawk
• Level 5. Sealed Tomb Level. Map is included in ERK. This level is notable for having a sealed tomb accessible only by performing an arcane ritual in another area of the dungeon.
• Level 6. Black Pudding Doorkeeper. Map included in ERK. Originally part of Castle El Raja Key and corresponds with Castle El Raja Key Level 6. Edited by Rob and Gary for use in the Expanded Greyhawk Castle as Core Level 6. It was upon this level, whilst it was part of Castle El Raja Key, that Gary's character, Mordenkainen, along with his henchmen Vrim, Vram, and Bigby, simultaneously fear, paralyze, and polymorph the black pudding "doorkeeper". Gary recounts this tale in Dragon Magazine #289
• Level 7. Tsojconth Level. A revised version of this was published by Gary as "Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth". Included in ERK, origianally level 10 of Castle ERK. -- alternatively: Multi-Layered Level (Rob did key) [PS]
• North
• Seven Levels?
• Level 8: The Lake (map and key by Gygax, based on Kuntz's original design)? [OSR]
• West
• Level 2
• Level 3 According to Stromberg, this is the "Invisible Maze" Level, not Core-2 [OSR]
• Level 4
• Level 5: Gallery Level. Map included in ERK. Originally Castle El Raja Key Level 5. Edited by Rob and Gary for use in the Expanded Greyhawk Castle. This odd level has a strange gallery in the upper northeast quadrant. Rob calls this a through level as much of it was bypassed when Mordenkainen and his compatriots came through here when it was in El Raja Key
• Level 6
• Level 7: Barracks Level. Map included in ERK. Originally Castle ERK Level 7. Gary's hasty editing can be seen in the southwest area of the level, where he adds several guard barracks and prison cells.
• Level 8
• East
• Level 2
• Level 3: Giant Pool Hall & Garden of the Plant Master. Map included in ERK. A special level with the protoype "Garden" of the Plantmaster in it, a Giants "Pool Hall", and the resting place of the first "ring of shooting stars." The Garden is just a single room on one level of the 2nd Castle but it was a very memorable one and gets mentioned in the lists of Tricks and Traps in Dungeons & Dragons Supplement I: Greyhawk
• The Bowling Alley was not for anyone to use for fun. It was a trap that could have you take damage from rolling boulders that were sent from beyond your sight. More like something from the old Land of the Giants program. It was part of the Gem Garden with the Evil Wizardress and her Were-Tiger - Giant guard patrols. I used to make raids into the gem garden for huge experience points. The gutters were presented as a safe place from the boulders until Dad then had a poor bowler come to the line. [42.2] The bowling alley with the pin pattern can be seen in the NE corner of the map (leading off the map), in ERK.
• Level 4:
• Level 5:
• Level 6: Living Room Level [OSR]
• Level 7:
• Level 8: Machine Level. Map included in ERK. The Original "Machine Level," playtested by EGG and adventured on by dozens, including James Ward's PC, Bombadil. Repair robots, washing tubs, insane machinery, and floors with conveyer belts moving one to these areas. Rob Kuntz ran demo games of Dungeons & Dragons, using the Machine Level, at GenCon in 1974. Tim Kask, reminisces that by the end of the adventure his dwarf was, "captured by nasty buggers and carted off to stand in front a huge machine, encased in Lucite-like material and minced into little bits with a laser-beam." 
• South
• Seven Levels?
• Level 8: Repeating Hex Rooms (drawn by a classmate of Ernie Gygax)? [OSR]
• access to EX1, EX2
• 1974. The story is: Gary and myself were still adding levels to GHC2 then. Ernie Gygax, Gary's son, encountered a chap (unnamed or now unknown, but maybe Ernie recalls) at HS who provided him with a level he'd made as he was playing with Ernie on the side. This level was all hexagonal rooms one after the other, top to bottom, with doors on all 6 face-walls accessing the adjacent hex rooms via 10 x 10 rooms in each case. Ernie showed it to us and Gary loved it he included it in our design. I was not as fond of it as Gary was (and neither were those players who got stuck on it), in fact I found it (secretly) ridiculous. It is the only GHC2 level not created by Gary or myself. RJK

• Level 9+: The four levels from the stacks rejoined onto a single level 9.
• Level 9: Gate Level  Access points to Horsing around, Dirdir Level, Isle of the Ape
• A tripartite Portal which went to WG 6 Isle of the Ape ("Monkeying Around"), a greek mythology world with centaurs ("Horsing Around") and  one other level ("Joking Around") [30.4] was in mid 74
• Level 10: "Great Stone Face Enigma" (Kuntz redrew Gygax's map)? [PS]
• Level 11: Elevator Level/Entrance to Oz Whole elevator rooms/complex which actually moves up a whole 1/8 of the map to the levels above, with ending point covering pit (never found by adventurers) with a great magic item in it. Entrance to land of OZ. (Emerald City Oz). Map included in ERK. 
• Level 12: Boreal Level. Ice/Snow level (Arctic Level). Frost King, Ice Worms Trap area with many holes, boreal clime.  Includes the place where the Frost King held court, the ice worms trap area with many holes, and other boreal clime themed encounters. Map included in ERK.
• Level 13: Portal Level. Original Lord of Light with my "Orb of Brightness" (later renamed by EGG as "Gem of Brightness"), Hidden Tomb with staff of wizards, Corridors of Distance, access points to Asgard, Melnibonae, Dying Earth, sinking/rising rough hewn room to levels below and above. Map included in ERK.
• Level 14: Orb, Scepter & Crown. Wide down-slant to level 18, Portal to Asgard. Access to deeper regions of the castle, bridge over void with Flame guardian, 3 Kings throne room (massive)--MU, F, Cl--where one of the artifacts for clerics was located. (this is one artifact out of a set that would be later written up as the Crown, Orb, and Scepter of Might artifacts found in Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry and later in the DMG. These were originally created for the various classes, Magic-user, Fighter, Cleric but later changed to alignment based). Map included in ERK.
• Level 15-17: level 9-12 from Old Castle?
• Level 16: Entrance to Bottle City? 
• Level 18: Dragon Level. Unfinished. Partial Map included in ERK. Described as "Gargoyle" Level in [OSR]
• Level 19
• Level 20 Described as Dragon Level in [OSR]
• Extradimensional and side levels, and special locations:
• Living Room. Map included in ERK. Rob later published a revised version of this. Essentially a room where all the furniture is animated and will attack. One of the most memorable areas was The Living Room, encountered by Jim Ward (playing his wizard Bombadil, later renamed Drawmij by Gary Gygax) and other players in the 2nd Castle. The Living Room is just a single room on one level of the 2nd Castle but it was a very memorable one and gets mentioned in the lists of Tricks and Traps in Dungeons & Dragons Supplement I: Greyhawk. Rob's original map and key still reside with Gary Gygax's copy of the Expanded Greyhawk Castle. Rob set about recapturing the level from his eidetic memory. The map, shown was edited by Rob for this purpose
• See The Living Room [Pied Piper Publishing, 2007]
• Black Reservoir. Originally part of castle ERK. Map included in ERK. Accessible from Level 7. Gary ran his son Ernie's magic-user, Erac's Cousin, an Enchante, and Ernie's buddy, Don Arndt's character, Londlar, a Lama, on this adventure, set in the Expanded Greyhawk Castle, over their summer vacation in 1974. Along with them was Erac's Cousin's henchman, Nulfyke, a dwarf Swordsman, and Londlar's Acolyte henchman, Ugubb of the Lake of Crystal. Gary famously recounted this adventure in El Conquistador as the Expedition to the Black Reservoir (Vol. I, Issue 12 in August of 1974) and were it not for Erac's Cousin's Dirdir ray gun, it would have been a eulogy! So, no key, but the recounting gives a good idea of the encounters on the map. 
• Bottle City Level. A bottled city f. Wonderful map and 8 pages of KEY included in ERK. High level - encounters with Hydras, Giants, Dragons & the nine demigods, as well as 5 unique demigods. ERK gives this as side level 02, but given the monsters here, access from level 16 as stated sounds much more reasonable. 
• [Pied Piper Publishing, 2007; Black Blade, 2014]
• "Monekying Around" Isle of the Aple (published as WG6 in Detail) 
• Perhaps I was a bit carried away when I stated out Oonga, but I loved and still do the 1938 King Kong film...and I was fed up with the top players' PCs in my campaign kicking around almost every monster sent against them.  #7789
• Actually, IIRR the PCs from my campaign popped in, surprised the natives, and offed the main leaders quickly, so the mass fled from them. Then the lads ventured past the wall, got a look at things, and got out of there. I don't recall how they managed it, but they left, returned to attack the shaman and his guards, and eventually some of them faced Oonga...one getting trashed thus and the others escaping. Again, they knew they were seeking an artifact, but damned if I can remember if I had defined it as the Crook of Rao then. The module was published about three years after the last excursion by any PCs from my campaign, but the fellows at TSR play-tested it before it went to the printers. #3698
• As far as I can recall, I always created new maps fot adventures that required them. That includes the one for Isle of the Ape, but not those for Dungeonland and Land Beyond the Magic Mirror where I used the exact same maps I created for the campaign group. #6169
• After the monkeying Around on the Isle of the Ape, all the high-level PCs put the word out to stay away from that part of the dungeon level... #3251
• "Horsing Around" Robs Greek Mythology Level. 4-fanfold level dealing with the Grecian Mythos, related creatures, and with some interesting "wars" going on there between the major groups. By Rob.
• The horsing Around area led to a Sylvan area where centaurs were indeed one of the encounters. I might have that big map somewhere, included it as an adjunct to the CZ dungeons if it is located...or I am moved to re-create the woods and meadows. . #3251
• "Fooling Around" 
• The third area was identified beforehand as Fooling Around, and it was a double entendre name. I can't say more, for that would give away the surprise entailed in visiting the place. I don't mind saying that there was indeed a jester and a couple of assistant "Jack Puddings" involved in the adventure.  #3251
• A Midsummer Night's Nightmare (Fooling Around). I had a side adventure area akin to the Isle of the Ape, Dungeonland, and The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror set up for my campaign. I titled it A Midsummer's Night's Nightmare. It was populated with all of the British-based monsters such as the booka and the kilmoulis, as well as many sorts of "little people" as commanded by Oberon and Titania (don't mess with them!)...and Puck too was a most dangerous encounter. #5183
• This counterindicates that the third Portal led to the Dirdir, as Rob claims it led to a Dirdir Carabas Level, which could have been "fleeing & being hunted around," 
• Oz. From Michael Baum Stories. By Rob.
• Asgard By Rob.
• Melnibone
• Dying Earth
• Demonworld By Rob, Map in ERK drawn on a huge hex map 25.5" x 33" consisting of 9 sheets of Games Workshop hex paper taped together. This was the plane where Fraaz Urb'Lu made his home and were Erac's Cousin and Ayrelach were taken to from the Old Castle, so strictly speaking, this also was part of the Old Castle. Rob talked to Gary about giving the player's a chance to get out of their predicament. Rob had been detailing a planar setting he called Demonworld and he thought it would be perfect for Mark and Ernie. After some cajoling Gary agreed but was adamant that the blades not return to the campaign! ... The place is reputed to be so anti-magical that items brought to it will lose their magic powers permanently 
• Starship Warden level (see Gygax's "Faceless Gods and Clockwork Monsters" in TD#17)

Discussion of Levels on ENWorld [37]

OSR = OSR Grimoire Discussion of Extended Castle, claims not referenced, though

PS - email from Paul Stromberg to Gail Gygax on behalf of Rob

1) These are the levels done solely by Rob Kuntz that currently reside within the castle binder. These are the ones he is asking to be returned to him. Each has a map and a key:

Core 5 Gem Room and Crypts Level
Core 6 Black Pudding Doorkeeper Level
Core 7 Barracks Level
Core 11 Entrance to Oz Level
Core 12 Ice Level
Core 12 Asgard Level (Split)
Core 13 Fire Level
Core 14 Orb, Scepter, and Crown Level
East 6 Living Room Level
East 7 Garden & Giant's Pool Hall Level
East 8 Machine Level
West 3 Invisible Maze Level
West 5 Gallery Level
South 9 Horsing Around Level (Split)

2) There are also levels where Gary and Rob each did either the key or the map or vice versa but Rob is *not* asking for those:

Core 7 Multi-Layered Level (Rob did key)
Core 10 The Great Stone Enigma Level (Rob redrew map)
Core 16 Entrance to Bottle City Level (Rob & Gary did key together)
Core 18 Gargoyle (Rob did the key)
Core 20 Dragon Level (Rob & Gary did map together)
North 8 The Lake (Gary did map and key based on Rob's original design)

3) Additionally, there is one level that has a map drawn by a classmate of Ernie Gygax at Badger High. Rob and Gary labeled the map and created the key together but Rob is *not* asking for this:

South 8 Repeating Hex Rooms

4) Ultimately, there are a number of other examples of shared development of campaign materials between Rob and Gary. Rob is *not* asking for these but I shall mention them for your awareness:

The Four-Fold City Map & Keys (done both by Gary & Rob)
The Dyvers City Map & Keys (done both by Gary & Rob)
The Green Dragon Inn Map & Key (done by Rob)

5) Rob does retain a few of the original level maps and keys that he created in their entirety for the castle. These levels are well know to his and Gary's fans. If he was involved with any future project regarding the castle he would bring these levels with him:

The Greater Caverns Level
The Stalk Level
Demonworld Level
Clowning Around Level
Emerald City Level
Dying Earth Level
Bottle City Level