This challenge, popularized by the amazing Ray Otis, is drawn from an article written for Europa, a wargaming newsletter, in April of 1975 by Gary Gygax. You can download Ray’s challenge which includes the text of the original article here: https://plundergrounds.itch.io/gygax75

Ray has put this up as pay what you want, I hope you can donate at least a dollar to him but even if you are not able to please download the PDF as I am not going to reproduce his work here. My weekly entries will make more sense if you read the pamphlet. 

Week Five: The Larger World

This week we are to round out the setting with some meaningful details. 

Ray provides a number of options to round out the setting, I will do the following three. 

1. Outline other worlds/planes the characters could visit. 

2. Develop a rival company of adventurers or mercenaries that will cross paths with the player characters.

3. Make a list of system tweaks or house rules your setting will require.

Other worlds/planes the characters could visit

1. Dagobah. In this world dinosaurs really were big reptiles and mammals never developed beyond mindless food. Evolution eventually lead to serpent people (that’s Reptilians to you and me, Russ.) There was a spilt between the sexes as the males embraced sorcery while the females were more analytical and developed what we would call super science. They have visited the player character’s dimension in the past and while they attempted to colonize they were wiped out by the natives. This has made them very resentful and if they win the tournament they place on enslaving all sentient mammals on the adventurer’s world and using them for either labor or as cattle (food.) They are not above sending raiding parties to tamper with the adventurers in the floating dungeon contest. Their world is a steamy jungle type swamp. 

2. Earth. This is pretty much our modern day world, current technology with maybe a little secret magic or psionics. It is the underdog in the competition but has some strong competitors and always places well in the contest. They don’t currently have the capability to travel to the other dimensions and will not try to interfere with the other teams.

3. Battle World. This is the location where the tournament of champions takes place. Once the tournament starts the teams must stay here until the competition is complete. The base atmosphere and environment will be survivable to all teams. The participants of each battle will take place in a random game of chance which will determine who picks the battlefield for the matches. There are as many different battlefields as their are biomes and all types of terrain and degrees of urbanization are available.   

A rival company.

Prince Barin who rules the castle in the mountains has assembled a company of champions to conquer the floating dungeon and win the wizard’s contest. This company will progress roughly at the rate the player character’s does and will be built and have all the abilities / perks of player characters in the rule system used. They will have the best equipment money can buy. Sir Lawrence will be one level above the highest player character and the rest of company will be one level below the average party member. (Add the PC’s levels together and divide by the number of PCs. Round up and subtract one to get the level of the rest of this company.)

Leader, Prince Barin’s son, Sir Lawrence. Will be the equivalent of a paladin. 

Two warriors. Sir Lawrence’s brother Darell and other brother Darell. Chaotic Good.

Two clerics. Sister Deloris Van Cartier and Brother Matthew Hopkins. Chaotic Good.  

Two thieves. Edward Hawkins and Veronica Mars. Think of them more as trap specialists, both are Neutral Good.  

Two magic users. Tristan Vukcevic and Tyus Jones. 

Possible system tweaks or house rules that will be needed. 

1. As the players explore they will find advanced technology and evidence of super science, both in the past of their world and in the other worlds they might visit. The system will have to be able to handle firearms, energy weapons, power armor, vehicle chases and psionic abilities as well as the standard D&D type technology, magic, classes, and monsters. 

2. If the system doesn’t have a robust unarmed combat system one should probably be tacked on as the final tournament will include fighters that will use martial arts and who should be able to hold their own against opponents with weapons.

That is all for this week and normally this would end the Gygax 75 Challenge. In this case I still owe some room examples for dungeon levels one and two from Week Three so I’ll post those next week. Until that time please be excellent to each other!