Not to Be

In the past, I've written about D&D products that were announced or referenced but that, for whatever reason, never came to pass. While reading issue #55 of Dragon (November 1981), I came across references to some more (and some of the same) in Gary Gygax's "From the Sorceror's [sic] Scroll" column.

Of the five projects listed here, arguably only one – regular World of Greyhawk information via Dragon columns – was ever realized. TSR did release a City of Greyhawk boxed set in 1989, but I don't believe it bears much connection to the city from Gygax's campaign, having been written by Doug Niles, Carl Sargent, and Rik Rose. Likewise, we never saw any "smaller-scale maps of important areas of the Flanaess," unless you count some of the material included in Greyhawk modules from the late '80s and early '90s. Again, how much Gygaxian material any of these modules contain is likely tiny. This column is the first time I'd ever seen reference to "miniatures rules for large-scale battles between the states of Oerth" and I'm intrigued by the concept.

The last project mentioned, concerning the Greyhawk Castle and dungeons, is the most interesting. The fact that this project never saw much progress is well known and a source of much consternation from those of us interested in the earliest megadungeons of the hobby. Rather than simply give vent to my bitterness on this topic once more, I'd like to focus instead on Gygax's parenthetical comments about dungeon design. He says:

As with most extensive dungeon complexes, much is developed and kept in the head due to actual play, and some areas are so difficult as to be impossible for those not used to our DM style.

This is a very remarkable statement and one that rings true with my own experience. Mega or "tent pole" dungeons are in a constant state of flux, owing to the activities of the various factions that inhabit them, not to mention the actions of the player characters. Consequently, when refereeing a dungeon of this sort, it's often easiest to keep a very loose key rather than a more detailed one of the sort that works best for a published product. The process of converting Gygax's sketchy written material and mental notes into something fit for sale would no doubt have been an onerous one and I'm not at all surprised it never came to pass.