Dungeons And Dragons Creator Gygax's Final Legacy Is Now Crowdfunding
Though he left TSR and D&D in the 1980s, Gygax never stopped creating. He built a massive fantasy setting called Castle Zagyg that he used for his own games over many, many decades. Troll Lord Games, in collaboration with Gary's son Luke Gygax, is bringing a massive collection of this work to his fans via a crowdfunding project called Castle Zagyg: Galleries of the Arch Mage for Castles & Crusades, their flagship line.
'This is something I worked years and years for,' said Luke Gygax, author on the currently funding project. 'It's something I promised my father I would help bring to the public. I made that promise in 2007 and here we are today."
The current crowdfunding project focuses on the first three parts of a five volume series. These boxed sets detail the castle and the surrounding environs offering hundreds of pages of adventure inspiration. The more money raised by the crowdfunding efforts the more material will be included in each boxed set.
'Many people think Castle Zagyg is a megadungeon where you kick in the door and there's a dragon in the room and then you kick in the next door and it's a room full of ogres," said Luke gygax. "It's not quite like that. There is a rhyme and reason. It's the castle of the mad archmage Zagyg. It's for his entertainment.'
While there are storylines and memorable characters, Castle Zagyg offers plenty of exploration. Gary Gygax preferred a style of game more akin to open world video games where players were free to roam an area and build the experience on their own terms. He also aimed to challenge the players as much as the twists of the story challenged the characters.
'There's puzzles. There's clues. Mapping the dungeon was part of the game in the 70s. You would draw the map on your graph paper. Then you look at the graph paper. Maybe you find some space where there could be a room or something and you decide to go check it out.'
Gygax partnered with Troll Lord Games to bring Castle Zagyg to life using Castles & Crusades. C&C is one of the most popular and well supported Old School Revival games on the market. It also allows fans who want to run the game using AD&D will find it easy to do so.
'Castles & Crusades we created back in 2004," said Stephen Chenault, CEO of Troll Lord Games. 'The company needed it's own footprint, it's own role playing game. Gary Gygax needed a home for his Castle Zagyg dungeons. I was a huge Advanced Dungeons & Dragons guy. Davis Chenault and Mac Golden delivered a game that really had that feel. Our CK, the Castle Keeper, has control of the narrative but its not very mechanically heavy. Combat and attribute checks and that's basically it. Once players realize this, that they can do anything and try anything, it's just katy-bar-the-door and you can have a lot of fun with it."
Troll Lord Games is finishing a project that it began in the 2000s with this collection of boxed sets. Fans will get a chance to see a setting evolve over decades and then get a chance to put their own spin on it. The crowdfunding campaign runs through April 4th, 2025.
"[Castle Zagyg] is my father's magnum opus," said Luke Gygax. "So many greats played in it from my brother Ernie to Rob Kuntz, James Ward and dozens of creators who played and playtested these levels. This is his greatest work.'
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