The Collector's Trove Presents: Legends of Wargaming at GaryCon VI

Howdy All,


The Collector's Trove and Gary Con would like to announce an ongoing series of events at Gary Con that pay special attention to the early days of wargaming prior to the introduction of Dungeons & Dragons. The special events will be gathered under the aegis: Legends of Wargaming. These events attempt to bring Gary Con attendees the classic board and miniature wargames that were a staple during the early days of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association (LGTSA), International Federation of Wargaming (IFW), Castle & Crusade Society, Midwest Military Simulation Association (MMSA), and Gen Con. Each event will exhibit a history of the game and its significance to the hobby of wargaming and even role-playing games. Also displayed will be various memorabilia and photos and original rules, figures, and accessories used during play. When possible, the events will involve individuals who played, refereed, and authored the games during this golden age of wargaming. This is your chance to experience what it was like to play these games at the earliest Gen Cons and Gary Gygax’s own basement in Lake Geneva! The games will be taught and refereed so interest is all that is required by players. Even if you don’t sign up to play be sure to stop by to view the displays, ask questions, and watch the fun of classic wargaming!

The following are the returning Legends of Wargaming events currently scheduled for Gary Con VI:

Chainmail Fantasy: Battle for the Brown Hills (Referee: Paul Stormberg)
Chainmail Fantasy: Battle for the Moathouse (Referee: Paul Stormberg)
Chainmail Historical: Battle on the Ice (Referee: Mike Mornard)
Chainmail Jousting Tournament (Referee: Paul Stormberg)
Classic Warfare (Referee: Kevin Maurice)
Dawn Patrol: Fight in the Skies (Referee: Mike Carr)
Diplomacy (Referee: Bill Hoyer)
Don’t Give Up The Ship (Referee: Mike Carr)
Dungeon! (Referee: Dave Megarry)
Fletcher Pratt GenCon IV Naval Battle (Referee: John Bobek)
Giant Le Mans (Referee: Mike Carr)
H.G. Wells, Little Wars (Referee: John Bobek)
Remagen Bridge (Referee: Jon Pickens)
Siege of Bodenburg (Referee: Paul Stormberg)
Sturmgeschutz and Sorcery (Referee: Mike Reese and Bill Hoyer)
Tractics (Referee: Mike Reese)

The Collector’s Trove is working with Gary Con and several VIPs to bring you new Legends of Wargaming events each year. In addition to the well attended offerings from previous years we have several incredible new developments:

First up, Terry Kuntz, an early TSR employee, LGTSA member, and playtester of both Chainmail and D&D will Join the Legends of Wargaming VIP referee corps. Terry will referee a classic Chainmail man-to-man scenario, The Viking Assault of a Norman Seawatch Fort, originally designed by Gary Gygax and first played by members of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association and the Castle & Crusade Society as part of an ongoing campaign in 1970. Test your tactical skills in this exciting miniatures game on the Gary Con Sand Table with one of the individuals who was there when it all started.

Next, attendees will get the chance to experience a game that is at the roots of the roleplaying game phenomena: Braunstein! Nearly 45 years ago a remarkable thing happened when Dave Wesley refereed a game for his Napoleonic wargaming group, including Dave Arneson. As the players arrived they were each is given a role to play within the German town of Braunstein: mayor, banker, student, Prussian army scout, etc. Soon each became immersed in a dynamic roleplaying experience with more than two sides, more than one objective, cooperative and competitive play, without any clear winner or conclusion. Considered a failure by Wesley, his players didn’t care – it was fun! Thus the seed of roleplaying games had been sown and would later be cultivated by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax into the game we all know and love – Dungeons & Dragons!

Then, a really big development: the Gary Con Sand Table will be set up for play in the basement of 330 Center Street! That’s right, the six foot by ten foot sand table will actually be in the basement of Gary Gygax’s former home in Lake Geneva! The basement where Gary and his LGTSA wargaming club playtested Chainmail and Tractics and where Dungeons & Dragons and Greyhawk Castle were born!



And if you think that is amazing, this will really blow you away: a recent discovery by The Collector’s Trove has found one of TSR’s earliest published adventures by Gary Gygax! Used to demonstrate Dungeons & Dragons at Origins II in 1976, a number of copies were printed up as a free hand-out to those watching the demonstration. The most exciting part, the adventure is the fully fleshed-out first-level of Greyhawk Castle! Special sessions of this Dungeons & Dragons adventure will actually be run at 330 Center St. in the same kitchen where Gary introduced Dungeons & Dragons and Greyhawk Castle to his son and daughter Ernie and Elise over 40 years ago. Could there be a more amazing way to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons?

Each year, The Collector’s Trove seeks out new events to sponsor for Legends of Wargaming. Currently we are seeking referees to teach and demonstrate the following games: Seapower, Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame, Tactics I or II, Outdoor Survival, Cavaliers & Roundheads, and Alexander. In addition anyone wanting to run and demonstrate Stratego, Afrika Korps, Panzerblitz, Stalingrad, Gettysburg, or just about any 1975 or earlier miniature or board wargame. Click on Legends of Wargaming if you are interested in being a part of this phenomenal program!

Hereafter are descriptions and images of the Legends of Wargaming events:

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: The Battle for the Moathouse
DM Name: Paul J. Stormberg
DM Email Address: stormber@cox.net
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Chainmail
If Other, System Name:
Date: Saturday
Time: 0800-1200
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: Legends of Wargaming event. The Battle for the Moathouse is a Chainmail fantasy battle that revisits the famed ruins found in TSR's T1 The Village of Hommlet by Gary Gygax, some 9 years earlier before it fell to the forces of good. A lesser battle in the struggle against the rise of the Temple of Elemental Evil, but still of great importance to those subjugated by its vile Black Lord, a cleric of evil damnation. You and your team of three players control either the forces of weal or the antithesis of weal. This event was originally run as a reunion event for Gary Gygax's Castle & Crusade Society at Lake Geneva Gaming Convention in 2006 and has been run every year since in Lake Geneva!

Paul Stormberg (first white shirt from left) plays innagural game of Battle for the Moathouse with Jeff Perren (second white shirt from left), Gary Gygax (third white shirt from left), and Ernie Gygax (striped shirt on far right)

Also playing, the side of chaos, from left to right: Bill Hoyer, John Bobek, and Rob Kuntz with referee Paul Stormberg (note the look of distress on the referee's face as they suggest a preposterous plan)

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Fury of the Celts
DM Name: Kevin Maurice
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Classic Warfare
If Other, System Name:
Date: Friday
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: This is your chance to learn to play Gary Gygax’s magnum opus wargame, Classic Warfare! This battle will pit two teams playing either the invading Romans or the native Britons circa 50 A.D. The scenario begins with an advance legionnaire force of Quintus Ostorius Scapula trying to establish a new legionnaire fortress in the southeastern portion of Wales. En route, Caratacus, leader of the Celts in Wales and Gloucestershire, makes a guerilla attack with a force of foot, cavalry, and heavy chariots against the Roman detachment of four cohorts and a few native auxiliary forces. The Celts try to cut the Romans off and destroy them before reinforcements arrive from an already established legionnaire fortress nearby. The Romans can do naught but survive the fury of the Celts!

Tim Kask (on left) runs a session of Gary Gygax's Classic Warfare, a game Tim playtested and edited with Gary

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: WWII Armor Battle
DM Name: Mike Reese
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Tractics
If Other, System Name:
Date: Friday and Saturday
Time: 1800-2200 and 0900-1300
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: This is your chance to learn to play one of Gary Gygax’s favorite games, Tractics by Mike Reese and Leon Tucker, a game Gary helped design, playtest, edit, type, and publish. This WWII armor battle will be conducted on the Gary Con Sand Table but this year it will actually be in the basement of Gary Gygax’s home at 330 Center St. in Lake Geneva! The basement where Gary and his LGTSA wargaming club playtested Chainmail and Tractics and where Dungeons & Dragons and Castle Greyhawk were born! The event will be run by none other than Mike Reese, co-author of Tractics and member of Gary’s original LGTSA. The scenario will be the original battle designed by Mike Reese for Tractics debut at Gen Con in 1971 and use vintage Roco tanks and accessories just like the ones used on Gary’s sand table.

Mike Reese (seated at right) runs a game of Tactics on the Gary Con Sand Table a game he designed with Gary Gygax and Leon Tucker

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Dawn Patrol
DM Name: Mike Carr with George Henion and Matt Faytle
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Dawn Patrol/Fight in the Skies
If Other, System Name:
Date: Friday and Saturday
Time: Friday (1900-2200) and Saturday (0800-1100)
Duration: 3 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 12
Event Description: This even actually begins at 7 p.m. This is your chance to learn to play Fight in the Skies, one of the classic board wargames of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Fast and easy to learn, this WWI aerial combat game recaptures the excitement of dogfights as seen in such films as Blue Max. The event will be taught and refereed by game designer Mike Carr (assisted by with George Henion and Matt Faytle) as he recreates the experience of many such games that he has personally run at every Gen Con from 1968 to the present!


Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Giant Le Mans!
DM Name: Mike Carr
Game Type: Board Game
Game System: Le Mans
If Other, System Name:
Date: Saturday
Time: 1100-2000
Duration: 9 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 28

Event Description: This is your chance to learn to play Le Mans, one of the classic miniature wargames published by Avalon Hill in 1961 and played extensively throughout the 1970’s. This auto racing game recaptures the excitement and endurance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in just 8 hours. The event will be taught and refereed by Mike Carr as he recreates the experience of many such games run at early Gen Cons with racing bibs, diecast cars, and a giant racecourse to play on ­ thus, Giant Le Mans! First run by Mike at GEN CON IX in 1976, it proved highly popular, spawning an actual 24 hour event played at the Dungeon Hobby Shop in 1981! This has become a favorite Gary Con event and is a must play game for all attendees. For more info on this classic event, see the special page on the Gary Con web site.


Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Don’t Give Up the Ship!
DM Name: Mike Carr
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Don’t Give Up The Ship!
If Other, System Name:
Date: Friday
Time: 1200-1700
Duration: 5 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 16
Event Description: This is your chance to learn to play Don’t Give Up The Ship!, one of the classic miniature wargames of the early 1970’s. Co-authored by Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and Mike Carr, this Age of Sail, ship to ship combat game recaptures the excitement of the time period and such works of fiction as the Master and Commander and Horatio Hornblower novels. The event will be taught and refereed by co-author Mike Carr as he recreates the experience of many such games run at early Gen Cons.

Mike Carr (seated on floor w/black shirt) runs a game of Don't Give Up the Ship, a game he designed with Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Dungeon!
DM Name: Dave Megarry
Game Type: Board Game
Game System: Other
If Other, System Name: Dungeon!
Date: Friday, Saturday
Time: 1400-1600
Duration: 2 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner (kids with adults welcome)
Number of Players: 20
Event Description: This is your chance to learn to play Dungeon! from the original designer, Dave Megarry! After a brief introduction on the history of the game’s design by Dave Megarry, he will lead up to 20 players simultaneously on 4 boards! and if that wasn’t enough, all games will be played on the actual ping pong table from Dave Arneson’s basement where Blackmoor was played and where Dave Megarry first introduced his game of Dungeon!

Dave took part in playing in Dave Arneson’s original Blackmoor, a game that used the Fantasy Supplement of Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren’s Chainmail Medieval miniature warfare game. Dave codified these experiences into a dynamic, board game.

Gary Gygax loved to play this game, playtested, provided design input, wrote several articles, and variants for the game.

Dave Megarry (in plantation hat) runs four simultaneous sessions of Dungeon!, a game he designed in 1973 and later published through TSR in 1975 - TSR's most popular boardgame!

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Diplomacy
DM Name: Bill Hoyer
Game Type: Board Game
Game System: Diplomacy
If Other, System Name:
Date: Saturday
Time: 1400-2000
Duration: 6 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 7
Event Description: This is your chance to learn to play Diplomacy from Gary Gygax’s oldest gaming buddy, Bill Hoyer! If you ever wondered where the roots of role-playing games lie, check this one out! Diplomacy is the game that connected hundreds of players across the world, including Gary Gygax, through postal gaming. It also gave rise to dozens and dozens of fanzines which further spread the web of wargaming around the world. Bill will teach the game as each player takes on the role of the leaders of various countries prior to WWI.

Gary Gygax loved to play this game and created several variants for the game including Crusadomacy, Khanomacy, Indianomacy, and Conanomacy.


Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: The Battle for the Brown Hills
DM Name: Paul J. Stormberg
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Chainmail
If Other, System Name:
Date: Saturday
Time: 1800-2200
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: This classic Chainmail fantasy scenario, originally designed by Gary Gygax, will be conducted on the Gary Con Sand Table but this year it will actually be in the basement of Gary Gygax’s home at 330 Center St. in Lake Geneva! The basement where Gary and his LGTSA wargaming club playtested Chainmail and Tractics and where Dungeons & Dragons and Castle Greyhawk were born!

The Battle for the Brown Hills was first played by members of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association and the Castle & Crusade Society in 1971. Test your tactical skills in this exciting miniatures game that is the roots of the original Dungeons & Dragons game.

This game will feature 40mm Elastolin figures by Hausser and dimestore conversions of vintage plastic figures for fantasy creatures – just like Gary used.

Set up for the Battle for the Brown Hills on the GaryCon Sand Table

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Return to Iron Bottom Sound
DM Name: John Bobek
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Other
If Other, System Name: Action on the High Seas
Date: Saturday
Time: 0900-1300
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: This is a WWII 1:2400 naval combat game designed by John Bobek, former editor of IFW Monthly and author of Games of War. John designed this game in 1972 and used it to run miniature battles at Gen Cons in the following years. John will teach the very simple and fast set of rules for a WWII Pacific Theater naval engagement between U.S. and Japanese warships!

John Bobek (far right) runs Action on the High Seas, a game he designed in 1972 for GenCon, with TSR alum Skip Williams (far left) and Jon Pickens (near right)

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: For Queen and Country
DM Name: John Bobek
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Other
If Other, System Name: Little Wars
Date: Saturday
Time: 1400-1800
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: In 1913 H. G. Wells published Little Wars, a book about an amusing game he created using spring loaded, toy guns that fired dowels to knock down toy soldiers.

This book is the first set of commercially published military miniatures rules and is the ancestor of modern miniature wargaming. Indeed it influenced Gary Gygax to include catapult area of effect and the radius of fireballs in Chainmail and Dungeons & Dragons.

Test your skills in this exciting, live-fire, miniatures game on the 101st anniversary of the publication of Little Wars! John Bobek, former editor of IFW Monthly and author of The Games of War, will guide two teams of three players in a Little Wars battle between the vaunted Bengal Lancers as they fight Pashtun tribes under the command of the Mad Mullah!

John Bobek (far right) former editor of the IFW and author of Games of War runs H.G. Wells' Little Wars on the 100th Anniversary of its publication

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Viking Assault of Norman Seawatch Fort
DM Name: Terry Kuntz
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Chainmail
If Other, System Name:
Date: Thursday
Time: 1400-1700
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 4
Event Description: This classic Chainmail man-to-man scenario, originally designed by Gary Gygax, will be conducted on the Gary Con Sand Table but this year it will actually be in the basement of Gary Gygax’s home at 330 Center St. in Lake Geneva! The basement where Gary and his LGTSA wargaming club playtested Chainmail and Tractics and where Dungeons & Dragons and Castle Greyhawk were born!

The Viking Assault of a Norman Seawatch Fort was first played by members of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association and the Castle & Crusade Society and was part of an ongoing campaign in 1970. The referee will be none other than Terry Kuntz an LGTSA member and playtester of both Chainmail and D&D. Test your tactical skills in this exciting miniatures game that is the roots of the original D&D game.

The sand table is set for Viking Raid on a Norman Seawatch Fort, a 1970 scenario designed by Gary Gygax for Chainmail Man-to-man rules

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Sturmgeschutz & Sorcery
DM Name: Mike Reese, Bill Hoyer
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Dungeons & Dragons
If Other, System Name:
Date: Saturday
Time: 1400-1700
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: This classic Dungeons & Dragons fantasy battle, originally designed by Gary Gygax, will be conducted on the Gary Con Sand Table but this year it will actually be in the basement of Gary Gygax’s home at 330 Center St. in Lake Geneva! The basement where Gary and his LGTSA wargaming club playtested Chainmail and Tractics and where Dungeons & Dragons and Castle Greyhawk were born!

The Sturmgeschutz & Sorcery fantasy battle was first played in the early 1970s and will be refereed by two if its original players, Mike Reese and Bill Hoyer! Test your tactical skills in this exciting miniatures game that uses the original Dungeons & Dragons rules, vintage Airfix 1/72 Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood figures, and various custom monster figures.

Jim Ward (left), designer Gamma World, and Bill Hoyer (right), former President of the IFW, run the classic Sturmgeschutz & Sorcery as it appeared in the Strategic Review in 1975

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: The Battle on the Ice
DM Name: Michael Mornard
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Chainmail
If Other, System Name:
Date: Thursday
Time: 1800-2200
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: This Chainmail historical scenario will be conducted on the Gary Con Sand Table but this year it will actually be in the basement of Gary Gygax’s home at 330 Center St. in Lake Geneva! The basement where Gary and his LGTSA wargaming club playtested Chainmail and Tractics and where Dungeons & Dragons and Castle Greyhawk were born!

The Battle on the Ice recreates the historic battle fought by Prince Alexander Nevsky of Russia against the crusading Teutonic Knights! The referee will be none other than Michael Mornard an early participant in LGTSA games and the playtesting of Dungeons & Dragons. Indeed Michael played Chainmail on Gary Gygax’s own sand table! Test your tactical skills in this exciting historical Chainmail miniatures game with someone who was there at the beginning!

Mike Mornard (right), player in original Greyhawk, Blackmoor and Empire of the Petal Throne campaigns, runs Battle on the Ice, a historical Chainmail battle

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Siege of Bodenburg
DM Name: Paul J. Stormberg
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Other
If Other, System Name: Siege of Bodenburg
Date: Friday
Time: 0800-1200
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: Wow! This is the game played by Gary Gygax in 1968 at Gen Con I. It was this game that inspired him to form the Castle & Crusade Society and later write Chainmail and Dungeons & Dragons. This game uses a set of rules created by Henry Bodenstedt for use with gorgeous 40mm Elastolin castle and miniatures. A fantastic and fun game with gaming history and nostalgia too!

Enemy invaders surround Bodenburg Castle while a force of Lanskenets attempt to offload their supply wagon full of rations for the besieged fortress

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Remagen Bridgehead
DM Name: Jon Pickens
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Other
If Other, System Name: Remagen Bridgehead
Date: Saturday
Time: 0900-1300
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: This classic game, designed by Henry Bodenstedt, was first published in the fledgling Strategy & Tactics in 1967! It was the success of this game that encouraged Henry to create Siege of Bodenburg which arguably led Gary Gygax to the creation of Chainmail and, ultimately, Dungeons & Dragons.

This event, run by Jon Pickens, former TSR designer and editor, and member of the original Castle & Crusade Society, recreates the exciting capture of the Ludendorf Bridge during WWII. Americans rushed to capture the bridge intact while the desperate German defenders tried to repel them and blow-up the bridge. The scenario is a race against building German resistance and the inevitable collapse of the bridge! The scenario features vintage 1:87 Roco Minitanks and 1:72 Airfix miniatures.

Jon Pickens (second from left), TSR alum and member of the original Castle & Crusade Society runs Remagen Bridgehead game. Allen Hammack (third from left), TSR alum, author C2 Ghost Tower of Inverness plays on the side of the defending Germans

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Gary Con Jousting Tournament
DM Name: Paul J. Stormberg
Game Type: Miniature/War Game
Game System: Chainmail
If Other, System Name:
Date: Thursday-Saturday
Time: 0800-2400
Duration: 5-10 minutes
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: Unlimited (two at a time)
Event Description: Step up to the list and see how you fare in the third annual, Gary Con Chainmail Jousting Tourney! A dedicated gaming table will be set up with a beautiful diorama of vintage 70mm Elastolin figures and self-guided instructions to play. Face off with one of your friends or make a new one and challenge him to a tilt! The top, point-scoring competitors from jousts taking place prior to Saturday, noon, will enter into the second round of the tournament where the four best knights compete in an elimination round. The two finalists will then face of in the Grand Tournament! The winner of this final joust will have their name entered in the rolls of honor as they hold aloft the trophy helm!

In the third year of this event (2013) there were almost one hundred participants in the tournament!

A group of young convention goers use the Chainmail jousting rules by Gary Gygax as they participate in the annual Gary Con Jousting Tourney

Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Braunstein (Braunstein I)
DM Name: Dave Wesley
Game Type: Role-Playing Game
Game System: Other
If Other, System Name:
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 12
Event Description: A chance to experience a game that is at the roots of the roleplaying games: Braunstein! Nearly 45 years ago a remarkable thing happened when Dave Wesley refereed a game for his Napoleonic wargaming group, including Dave Arneson. As the players arrived they were each is given a role to play within the German town of Braunstein: mayor, banker, student, Prussian army scout, etc. Soon each became immersed in a dynamic roleplaying experience with more than two sides, more than one objective, cooperative and competitive play, without any clear winner or conclusion. Considered a failure by Wesley, his players didn’t care – it was fun! Thus the seed of roleplaying games had been sown and would later be cultivated by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax into the game we all know and love – D&D!


Event Title: Legends of Wargaming: Banania (Braunstein IV)
DM Name: Dave Wesley
Game Type: Role-Playing Game
Game System: Other
If Other, System Name:
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 12
Event Description: A chance to experience a game that is at the roots of the roleplaying games: Braunstein! Nearly 45 years ago a remarkable thing happened when Dave Wesley refereed a game for his Napoleonic wargaming group, including Dave Arneson. That game was Braunstein and allowed the individual players to roleplay individiual characters in the fictitious German town. After a few tweaks and failures, Dave created Braunstein IV: Banania. Players in the game take on the various roles of characters of this imaginary banana republic. Considered a success by players and Wesley himself – it was fun! Thus the seed of roleplaying games had been sown and would later be cultivated by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax into the game we all know and love – D&D!


Other special evemts being sponsored by The Collector’s Trove:

Event Title: Recall the Beginning: A Journey from Greyhawk
DM Name: Paul J. Stormberg
Game Type: Role-Playing Game
Game System: OD&D
If Other, System Name:
Date: Friday
Time: 1400-1800
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 6
Event Description: A recent discovery by The Collector’s Trove has found one of TSR’s earliest published adventures by Gary Gygax! Used to demonstrate Dungeons & Dragons at Origins II in 1976, a number of copies were printed up as a free hand-out to those watching the demonstration. The most exciting part, the adventure is the fully fleshed-out first-level of Greyhawk Castle! Special sessions of this Dungeons & Dragons adventure will actually be run at 330 Center St. in the same kitchen where Gary introduced Dungeons & Dragons and Greyhawk Castle to his son and daughter Ernie and Elise over 40 years ago. Could there be a more amazing way to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons?

Pregenerated characters will be provided, so just bring a writing instrument and your dice!


Event Title: The Lost Crypts of the Fire Opal
DM Name: Paul J. Stormberg
Game Type: Role-Playing Game
Game System: AD&D (1st Edition)
If Other, System Name:
Date: Thursday
Time: 0800-1200
Duration: 4 hours
Required Skill Level: Beginner
Number of Players: 9
Event Description: The Lost Crypts of the Fire Opal is the fully fleshed out version of an unfinished module by Gary Gygax. Over two centuries ago a monastery was besieged by a large force of raiders that laid the place low. Rumors in the village persist that something strange and terrible lurks in the abandoned monastery and that fantastic treasures are still to be found within the ruins. One such rumor tells of a huge fire opal that the abbot of the place is said to have hidden when the monastery was under siege. The fellow died, according to legend, before revealing it to anyone, so somewhere within the ruins lies a fortune. Will you be able to find the fabled Fire Opal in the ruins of a lost monastery and live to tell about it?


Futures Bright,

Paul