These note sheets are for Ernie's infamous character "Erac's Cousin", a later Greyhawk character, from 1975 to 1976, who continued to adventure in the combined, expanded version of Castle Greyhawk with Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz as his Dungeon Masters! "Erac's Cousin" appears in the Rogues Gallery with the following enigmatic entry (which Ernie points out has several errors as Brian Blume ad libbed much of the description):

"This mysterious figure (who has never revealed his true name) was once a lawful good magic-user. However, an unknown insanity overtook him and he slew all of his henchmen and companions, stealing their goods. After this, he left off being a magic-user and began anew as a fighter, eventually to become a double-classed human magic-user/fighter.

Erac’s Cousin is thoroughly evil, having made a pact with Baalzebul. In exchange for the souls of those he slays, Baalzebul has agreed to make a major devil of Erac’s Cousin when he dies. He is, however, afraid of death and if there is any means to prevent or delay it (i.e. wishes, potion of longevity, etc.), he will try to obtain it.

Obviously with such a character, Erac’s Cousin has no friends. If he associates with people, it is either to fulfill his bargain or to further his own greed. This greed is great and especially so for magic items. He will do whatever is necessary to acquire such items.

Erac’s Cousin has the following items: an imp familiar, a +1 sword (+2 vs. lycanthropes), a portable hole, a wand of fire, a ring of fire resistance, a displacer cloak, a phylactery of detecting secret door and traps (This device is usable by all classes. It is a leather band with two beaded tassels. It is worn on the brow. When con­centrating upon the desired thing, either secret doors or traps, it will reveal the location of all such within a 10’ radius of the user. It will only perform 1 function per round.), a suit of + 2 plate mail, a + 2 shield, and a medallion of ESP."

The first sheet in this set is a note sheet for Erac's Cousin, upon which Ernie dutifully recorded his character's experience points, magic items, notes on adventures, expenses, retainers, pets, clues, etc. The sheet is written on, front and back, and is crammed with a virtual history of the character. It is all there, how he got to be a double-classed fighter/magic-user by having to fight on Mars, the experience points, when his character was drained by a wight, notes on a tunic discovered with a label inside the collar reading "The Nessus Shirt Company", a diagram of how his treasures are trapped, g.p. hoarded, potions hoarded, the ledger and progress for his owlbear trainer, etc. The experience point totals reveal his last, highest levels attained. Secrets and details of the character never seen before! But this lot gets even better...

The second sheet in this set is a character sheet for a bogus character named "DLCaR". It was written by Ernie on an extremely old and rare Character Record. (The 2nd oldest printed TSR Character Record sheet from 1976! Never released to the public, used only by TSR employees!) It is clear to anyone reading the sheet closely that the character is quite tongue in cheek. In fact, the sheet is a clever ruse used by Ernie to avoid suspicion when exchanging the Character Record back and forth with his co-DM's at the time, Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz. The reason for the ruse was to cover up the written dialogue recorded on the back of the sheet from the other players. THAT is the real treasure here, for the notes from Ernie to Gary and Rob and vice versa reveal when (yes the very moment!) the other players in the campaign discover that Erac's Cousin had turned evil! The heinous act is all there penned by the hand of Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz as co-DM's and Ernie as the Player of Erac's Cousin. Oh and it is a most foul and treacherous exchange! Yet there it is in cold ink with (I kid you not) Ernie's thumbprint* clearly pressed in black ink! Diabolical! Certainly, the best kept secret of the Greyhawk Campaign but only the winner of this sheet, Ernie Gygax, Gary Gygax, Rob Kuntz, and I will ever know!

Now, as if these weren’t enough, Ernie has agreed to include a special surprise for the winner of this auction. Let's just say it will complete the picture for Erac's Cousin! What a great bonus indeed, the accurate Erac's Cousin revealed!

* Of course, it could be anybody's thumbprint. Just sayin'... I don't run a crime lab.

These sheets are a fantastic trove of Greyhawk lore! A true crown jewel for your collection!

Copyright © 1994-2010, [Paul J. Stormberg]. All rights reserved.