HAWK & MOOR - The Unofficial History of Dungeons & Dragons: Book 2 - The Dungeons Deep

by Kent David Kelly

THE CREATION of the world’s preeminent Fantasy Role-Playing Game (FRPG), Dungeons & Dragons, is one of the most fascinating tales to be told in all the shared histories of entertainment, play and game design. Two very different men, David Lance Arneson and Ernest Gary Gygax, undertook an unprecedented collaboration which gifted us — as their shared legacy — with one of the most intriguing games the world has yet experienced. Their game did not just simulate one isolate corner of reality; it dared to encompass the entirety of all realms of adventure, the consensual playground of the human imagination. HAWK & MOOR tells the story of Dave and Gary, and the many other people whose efforts gave first life to the game we know and love today. Arneson had spectacular ideas, but Gygax knew how to refine them. Collaboration soon turned to conflict as Arneson believed his game was being taken from him, and Gygax crystallized systems where incomprehensible riddles had stood before. Both men were creative geniuses, but the game they created from Gygax’s Chainmail (1971) was the end result not only of their teamwork, but also of their clashes and disagreements. HAWK & MOOR Book The Dungeons Deep tells the tale of all that came after Blackmoor in the World of Greyhawk. Herein you will find the adventures of Robilar, Tenser, Terik, Murlynd, Lessnard, Quij, Otto, and Zagyg the Mad himself. Mysteries such as the Old Guard Kobolds, the orc hordes, the Thouls, the Black Dragon Labyrinth, the Great Stone Face, the demon lord Fraz-urb’luu, the Jeweled Man, the Nine Demigods, the Isle of the Ape, and the slide to Cathay are all explored as well. HAWK & MOOR Book The Dungeons Deep includes 72,200 words on over 200 pages, supported by 406 footnotes and annotations. Prepare yourself, take up torch and sword. Come along and experience an unprecedented journey into the Golden Age!

421 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2014

Reviews

[Arthur B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as academically rigorous a history of D&D as Playing At the World, and relies significantly more on hearsay, but compiles some interesting anecdotes. Enjoy, but take with a pinch of salt. https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume in the history of GreyHAWK and BlackMOOR , D&D, and RPGs

I loved the first volume of Kelly's unofficial history, so I couldn't wait to plunge into the second one. The mostly unknown stories of early expeditions into Castle Greyhawk and El Raja Key, and such fabled encounters as the Great Stone Face and Jeweled Man (the truth of which no player had fully unravelled before the death of Gygax, and now no one ever shall), the struggle to get the very first version of D&D published, the hints of other RPGs on the horizon (like "Empire of the Petal Throne" . . . this is the untold history of our Hobby. Untold until now. Great stuff. A must-read for anyone interested in the earliest origins of D&D in particular and RPGs in general. I can't wait to read the next one!