The Egg of Coot - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

The Egg of Coot

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
lincoln_hills
Jan 28, 2005 18:04:18 In Blackmoor, as we know, there exists the Egg of Coot. Here are my questions:

1. Person... or place... or place that considers itself a person?
2. Relic of Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign, or does it share nothing with that other Egg except the name?
3. Magical or technological?
4. From Oerth, or from elsewhere?

Those of you who've read the handful of sites out there that describe Greyhawk's Blackmoor know that the 'Egg' apparently refers to both a place and an entity within it (unless, as I speculate above, they are one and the same.) As for the rest, I'm asking for speculation... or insider information, if you've got it.
#2
zombiegleemax
Jan 28, 2005 19:41:42 I'll have to agree with you. I've been given to understand that there is a location called The Egg of Coot but there is also an entity there that goes by that same name. What that entity is, I've never known.
#3
zombiegleemax
Jan 29, 2005 9:27:06 Ever seen Flight of the Navigator? Kind of a sci-fi, family, "wannabe ET," type movie from 1986... (a movie I recommend for anybody that has children, btw)

That's what I use as the Egg of Coot...

Shaped kind of like an egg, it talks, you can hop in and fly it around, its technologically advanced, etc etc...

I even actually have a few pages of notes slapped together that I had planned to publish on Canonfire, but the secret is out now so-to-speak. ;)
#4
lincoln_hills
Feb 03, 2005 14:47:31 I do like the notion of the Egg being a... well, a relic of sci-fi. I'm one of the few folks who didn't shout 'Blasphemy!' when I first saw S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.

In the days before TSR decided that deep space was inhabited by... well, basically, elves in flying boats... the Gygax/Arneson generation did some rather innovative things in adding science fiction elements to their campaign settings. While there were things I enjoyed about SPELLJAMMER, on the whole its revelations disappointed me in their... lack of scope. Gygax's vision of outer space seems to partake more of the Howard/Lovecraft 'Things from Beyond' genre... not space pirates.

...bringing me back to the Egg of Coot. The wreckage in S3 is essentially claimed to be other-worldly, arriving on Greyhawk through a sheer freak of nature (or the machinations of Istus, if you're a pre-destinarian. ;) I could make the case for the Egg (both place and person) being an AI or android - but the Egg could just as easily contain an undead, a demon or celestial of some kind, or a sentient construct. The possibilities are so marvelous that I almost hate to make a particular decision, and shut out all the other interesting potential stories. ;)

Incidentally, Canonfire's online Greyhawk atlas mentions the Egg being uninterested in conquest or rulership - being more of a "games player", toying with the lives of the mortals around it. I suppose that could easily tie in to existence as a scout (for whom?) or even an old Central Games Computer gone haywire, but I'm curious as to other folks' interpretations.
#5
Mortepierre
Feb 03, 2005 15:48:39 Personally, I have decided to go with the "nameless force of Evil" as outlined in the new Blackmoor d20 setting, though I'll admit your suggestion is intriguing.

As for S3, I always looked at it as "Gamma World meets AD&D". The fact that the module explained the vessel had been drawn through a black hole to the D&D universe made it possible for me not to invalidate the whole Spelljammer concept (which was a good thing considering I liked it).

Back then, I made the decision of having the whole vessel come through the black hole (wormhole most likely). The major part crashed in the Blackmoor area but two sections were "dumped" during its fall and landed in the Barrier Peaks. One was described in S3, the other in the Dragon Mag. article about radioactive aliens (don't remember which issue).

Hmm.. come to think of it, I wonder if a demon-possessed AI wouldn't make a weird yet logical candidate for the Egg...
#6
weasel_fierce
Feb 10, 2005 13:25:01 The name is also a joke, referring to a specific player in the early campaigns, I believe. But I cant remember the exact story
#7
zombiegleemax
Feb 10, 2005 14:04:52 Greg Scott = Egg Coot or whatever

Wargamer claiming fantasy gaming was for sissies and Wargaming was the manly-man's way to game, or some such crap.
#8
ivid
Feb 11, 2005 7:23:27 If you want to use the Egg (E.G.G.?!) in some kind of campaign, I'd recommend you to read Terry Brooks *The Druid of Shannara*... Not very *Greyhawk*, but to me, how a Blackmoor campaign could look like... ;)
#9
thanael
Feb 11, 2005 10:23:34 Another version i heard : Egg = E.G.G. the old coot. :-)
I believe the egg was not invented by gygax so could be true...
#10
cwslyclgh
Feb 11, 2005 12:10:26
Another version i heard : Egg = E.G.G. the old coot. :-)
I believe the egg was not invented by gygax so could be true...

I have heard that before also, but IIRC Mr. Arneson said that the greg scott story was the true one.
#11
habronicus
Feb 17, 2005 1:39:50 You may want to read these pages:

http://www.geocities.com/havardfaa/Coot.html

http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_anagrams.html

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~monax002/Council/OJ5/blackmoor2.html (scroll to the end)

I read somewhere that Dave Arneson's first map of Blackmoor (dated late 1960s) was very "humor-oriented" to the point he had "Holy Water Hoses" at the top of Castle Blackmoor so that the guards coulds spray any army of Vampires that might try and take the castle.

True or false, it does make me believe that the EGG of Coot is a joke about someone. Afterall, everything else was a joke too.

You be the judge.
#12
havard
Feb 17, 2005 6:44:43
You may want to read these pages:

http://www.geocities.com/havardfaa/Coot.html

I just dropped by this forum and whaddya know? My own website is mentioned

http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_anagrams.html

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~monax002/Council/OJ5/blackmoor2.html (scroll to the end)

I read somewhere that Dave Arneson's first map of Blackmoor (dated late 1960s) was very "humor-oriented" to the point he had "Holy Water Hoses" at the top of Castle Blackmoor so that the guards coulds spray any army of Vampires that might try and take the castle.

True or false, it does make me believe that the EGG of Coot is a joke about someone. Afterall, everything else was a joke too.

It is true that early versions of Blackmoor included alot of humoristic elements and jokes, some of which are still present in the Blackmoor setting today. However, Blackmoor was (and is) still a serious setting, and the Egg of Coot is still a serious character even if his name was a bit of a joke.

I can't speak for Greyhawk, but in Dave Arnesson's Blackmoor (D20), the Egg is a godlike evil character, although many of the details are left vague.

In the Mystara campaign, of which also Blackmoor is part, it was speculated that the EGG was a servitor of the Outer Beings, ancient creatures similar to the Old Ones from the Cthulhu Mythos.

Håvard
#13
mrfilthyike
Feb 17, 2005 9:27:38
Ever seen Flight of the Navigator? Kind of a sci-fi, family, "wannabe ET," type movie from 1986... (a movie I recommend for anybody that has children, btw)
That's what I use as the Egg of Coot...
Shaped kind of like an egg, it talks, you can hop in and fly it around, its technologically advanced, etc etc...

That's actually a really good idea!
#14
mrfilthyike
Feb 17, 2005 9:38:05 Having the EGG, all name jokes aside, as an unknown and mysterious being is great. It (the EGG) is like the Sauron of Blackmoor.
#15
havard
Feb 17, 2005 11:47:05
Having the EGG, all name jokes aside, as an unknown and mysterious being is great. It (the EGG) is like the Sauron of Blackmoor.

Ike, you here aswell?

I agree about the Egg being like the Sauron of Blackmoor. If I got around to starting a Blackmoor Campaign, I think I'd have it centered around fighting the Egg, maybe calling the campaign "Against the Egg" or something....

I am definately going for a Cthulhuesque meets HR.Giger type Egg...

Håvard
#16
lincoln_hills
Feb 17, 2005 14:11:03 Is that epic campaign the one where the PCs start out trying to find out the answer to the riddle, What came before the Egg? and end up having to fight the Vicious Chicken of Bristol?
#17
ivid
Feb 18, 2005 2:11:07 Given that the Egg is a poke to the Ever Greatest Gamedesigner, I'd do what I always did while I travelled Blackmoor: Don't come near it!!!

*just think that if you launch a fireball against it, somewhere else Gary Gygax gets a heart attack! Don't want to be the one who roasted the creator of D&D! That must be the kind feeling the guy who butchered Archimedes must have had...*

Havard, your site is great! Provided me with much info when I had my Blackmoor phase!
#18
i-m_batman_dup
Feb 19, 2005 8:27:20
...if you launch a fireball against it, somewhere else Gary Gygax gets a heart attack!

Nah! Maybe a hiccup. :P

And a cone of cold would just make him burp.
#19
havard
Feb 19, 2005 16:57:18
Havard, your site is great! Provided me with much info when I had my Blackmoor phase!

Thanks Ivid!
I know much of the focus of the site has been on the Blackmoor - Mystara connection, since that is the setting I am most familiar with, but I would love to further explore the connections between Blackmoor and Greyhawk aswell as the Wilderlands campaign too. If anyone has input on this let me know!

Batman: Aren't you confusing Gygax with Elminster? Oh wait, wrong setting eh? ;)

Håvard
#20
ivid
Feb 20, 2005 5:54:09 I personally know almost nothing about Mystara and BMs connection to it.
In WL, BM was supposed to lie north of Valon - both Valon an BM share the Valley of the Ancients.
The Greyhawk ties of BM are far more loose, asonly a small part of the BM area was converted to fit there.

I am currently thinking about doing something with the BM 3.5 and the Wilderlands material... In fact, I personally would be very happy if the two companies did kind of a joint venture...

WL by the way, is a superb settingfor anyone who wants to do some adventuring without to much *canonical bondage*.

Especially for us who are quite unhappy with the newer rpg mainstream, it's worth the try.

Check here

http://p096.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm9

I started to post ther recently under the same name. ;)
#21
princelian
Mar 07, 2005 14:55:10 I always assumed the Egg of Coot was aimed at E. Gary Gygax as a joke; it might have been someone else of the original design staff; I'll keep my delusions, thank you very much.

However, the EGG concept shows up in S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks if you look carefully at one of the ship level maps (Level 5, I think?). The bulkheads are clearly arranged to spell EGG.
#22
cwslyclgh
Mar 07, 2005 15:08:08
However, the EGG concept shows up in S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks if you look carefully at one of the ship level maps (Level 5, I think?). The bulkheads are clearly arranged to spell EGG

it is level 2, EGG is upside down, and includes .'s like initials, I think it has more to do with the initials of the module author then it does to do with the Egg of Coot.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 lincoln_hills Jan 28, 2005 18:04:18	In Blackmoor, as we know, there exists the Egg of Coot. Here are my questions: 1. Person... or place... or place that considers itself a person? 2. Relic of Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign, or does it share nothing with that other Egg except the name? 3. Magical or technological? 4. From Oerth, or from elsewhere? Those of you who've read the handful of sites out there that describe Greyhawk's Blackmoor know that the 'Egg' apparently refers to both a place and an entity within it (unless, as I speculate above, they are one and the same.) As for the rest, I'm asking for speculation... or insider information, if you've got it.
#2 zombiegleemax Jan 28, 2005 19:41:42	I'll have to agree with you. I've been given to understand that there is a location called The Egg of Coot but there is also an entity there that goes by that same name. What that entity is, I've never known.
#3 zombiegleemax Jan 29, 2005 9:27:06	Ever seen Flight of the Navigator? Kind of a sci-fi, family, "wannabe ET," type movie from 1986... (a movie I recommend for anybody that has children, btw) That's what I use as the Egg of Coot... Shaped kind of like an egg, it talks, you can hop in and fly it around, its technologically advanced, etc etc... I even actually have a few pages of notes slapped together that I had planned to publish on Canonfire, but the secret is out now so-to-speak. ;)
#4 lincoln_hills Feb 03, 2005 14:47:31	I do like the notion of the Egg being a... well, a relic of sci-fi. I'm one of the few folks who didn't shout 'Blasphemy!' when I first saw S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. In the days before TSR decided that deep space was inhabited by... well, basically, elves in flying boats... the Gygax/Arneson generation did some rather innovative things in adding science fiction elements to their campaign settings. While there were things I enjoyed about SPELLJAMMER, on the whole its revelations disappointed me in their... lack of scope. Gygax's vision of outer space seems to partake more of the Howard/Lovecraft 'Things from Beyond' genre... not space pirates. ...bringing me back to the Egg of Coot. The wreckage in S3 is essentially claimed to be other-worldly, arriving on Greyhawk through a sheer freak of nature (or the machinations of Istus, if you're a pre-destinarian. ;) I could make the case for the Egg (both place and person) being an AI or android - but the Egg could just as easily contain an undead, a demon or celestial of some kind, or a sentient construct. The possibilities are so marvelous that I almost hate to make a particular decision, and shut out all the other interesting potential stories. ;) Incidentally, Canonfire's online Greyhawk atlas mentions the Egg being uninterested in conquest or rulership - being more of a "games player", toying with the lives of the mortals around it. I suppose that could easily tie in to existence as a scout (for whom?) or even an old Central Games Computer gone haywire, but I'm curious as to other folks' interpretations.
#5 Mortepierre Feb 03, 2005 15:48:39	Personally, I have decided to go with the "nameless force of Evil" as outlined in the new Blackmoor d20 setting, though I'll admit your suggestion is intriguing. As for S3, I always looked at it as "Gamma World meets AD&D". The fact that the module explained the vessel had been drawn through a black hole to the D&D universe made it possible for me not to invalidate the whole Spelljammer concept (which was a good thing considering I liked it). Back then, I made the decision of having the whole vessel come through the black hole (wormhole most likely). The major part crashed in the Blackmoor area but two sections were "dumped" during its fall and landed in the Barrier Peaks. One was described in S3, the other in the Dragon Mag. article about radioactive aliens (don't remember which issue). Hmm.. come to think of it, I wonder if a demon-possessed AI wouldn't make a weird yet logical candidate for the Egg...
#6 weasel_fierce Feb 10, 2005 13:25:01	The name is also a joke, referring to a specific player in the early campaigns, I believe. But I cant remember the exact story
#7 zombiegleemax Feb 10, 2005 14:04:52	Greg Scott = Egg Coot or whatever Wargamer claiming fantasy gaming was for sissies and Wargaming was the manly-man's way to game, or some such crap.
#8 ivid Feb 11, 2005 7:23:27	If you want to use the Egg (E.G.G.?!) in some kind of campaign, I'd recommend you to read Terry Brooks The Druid of Shannara... Not very Greyhawk, but to me, how a Blackmoor campaign could look like... ;)
#9 thanael Feb 11, 2005 10:23:34	Another version i heard : Egg = E.G.G. the old coot. :-) I believe the egg was not invented by gygax so could be true...
#10 cwslyclgh Feb 11, 2005 12:10:26	Another version i heard : Egg = E.G.G. the old coot. :-) I believe the egg was not invented by gygax so could be true... I have heard that before also, but IIRC Mr. Arneson said that the greg scott story was the true one.
#11 habronicus Feb 17, 2005 1:39:50	You may want to read these pages: http://www.geocities.com/havardfaa/Coot.html http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_anagrams.html http://www.tc.umn.edu/~monax002/Council/OJ5/blackmoor2.html (scroll to the end) I read somewhere that Dave Arneson's first map of Blackmoor (dated late 1960s) was very "humor-oriented" to the point he had "Holy Water Hoses" at the top of Castle Blackmoor so that the guards coulds spray any army of Vampires that might try and take the castle. True or false, it does make me believe that the EGG of Coot is a joke about someone. Afterall, everything else was a joke too. You be the judge.
#12 havard Feb 17, 2005 6:44:43	You may want to read these pages: http://www.geocities.com/havardfaa/Coot.html I just dropped by this forum and whaddya know? My own website is mentioned http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_anagrams.html http://www.tc.umn.edu/~monax002/Council/OJ5/blackmoor2.html (scroll to the end) I read somewhere that Dave Arneson's first map of Blackmoor (dated late 1960s) was very "humor-oriented" to the point he had "Holy Water Hoses" at the top of Castle Blackmoor so that the guards coulds spray any army of Vampires that might try and take the castle. True or false, it does make me believe that the EGG of Coot is a joke about someone. Afterall, everything else was a joke too. It is true that early versions of Blackmoor included alot of humoristic elements and jokes, some of which are still present in the Blackmoor setting today. However, Blackmoor was (and is) still a serious setting, and the Egg of Coot is still a serious character even if his name was a bit of a joke. I can't speak for Greyhawk, but in Dave Arnesson's Blackmoor (D20), the Egg is a godlike evil character, although many of the details are left vague. In the Mystara campaign, of which also Blackmoor is part, it was speculated that the EGG was a servitor of the Outer Beings, ancient creatures similar to the Old Ones from the Cthulhu Mythos. Håvard
#13 mrfilthyike Feb 17, 2005 9:27:38	Ever seen Flight of the Navigator? Kind of a sci-fi, family, "wannabe ET," type movie from 1986... (a movie I recommend for anybody that has children, btw) That's what I use as the Egg of Coot... Shaped kind of like an egg, it talks, you can hop in and fly it around, its technologically advanced, etc etc... That's actually a really good idea!
#14 mrfilthyike Feb 17, 2005 9:38:05	Having the EGG, all name jokes aside, as an unknown and mysterious being is great. It (the EGG) is like the Sauron of Blackmoor.
#15 havard Feb 17, 2005 11:47:05	Having the EGG, all name jokes aside, as an unknown and mysterious being is great. It (the EGG) is like the Sauron of Blackmoor. Ike, you here aswell? I agree about the Egg being like the Sauron of Blackmoor. If I got around to starting a Blackmoor Campaign, I think I'd have it centered around fighting the Egg, maybe calling the campaign "Against the Egg" or something.... I am definately going for a Cthulhuesque meets HR.Giger type Egg... Håvard
#16 lincoln_hills Feb 17, 2005 14:11:03	Is that epic campaign the one where the PCs start out trying to find out the answer to the riddle, What came before the Egg? and end up having to fight the Vicious Chicken of Bristol?
#17 ivid Feb 18, 2005 2:11:07	Given that the Egg is a poke to the Ever Greatest Gamedesigner, I'd do what I always did while I travelled Blackmoor: Don't come near it!!! just think that if you launch a fireball against it, somewhere else Gary Gygax gets a heart attack! Don't want to be the one who roasted the creator of D&D! That must be the kind feeling the guy who butchered Archimedes must have had... Havard, your site is great! Provided me with much info when I had my Blackmoor phase!
#18 i-m_batman_dup Feb 19, 2005 8:27:20	...if you launch a fireball against it, somewhere else Gary Gygax gets a heart attack! Nah! Maybe a hiccup. :P And a cone of cold would just make him burp.
#19 havard Feb 19, 2005 16:57:18	Havard, your site is great! Provided me with much info when I had my Blackmoor phase! Thanks Ivid! I know much of the focus of the site has been on the Blackmoor - Mystara connection, since that is the setting I am most familiar with, but I would love to further explore the connections between Blackmoor and Greyhawk aswell as the Wilderlands campaign too. If anyone has input on this let me know! Batman: Aren't you confusing Gygax with Elminster? Oh wait, wrong setting eh? ;) Håvard
#20 ivid Feb 20, 2005 5:54:09	I personally know almost nothing about Mystara and BMs connection to it. In WL, BM was supposed to lie north of Valon - both Valon an BM share the Valley of the Ancients. The Greyhawk ties of BM are far more loose, asonly a small part of the BM area was converted to fit there. I am currently thinking about doing something with the BM 3.5 and the Wilderlands material... In fact, I personally would be very happy if the two companies did kind of a joint venture... WL by the way, is a superb settingfor anyone who wants to do some adventuring without to much canonical bondage. Especially for us who are quite unhappy with the newer rpg mainstream, it's worth the try. Check here http://p096.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm9 I started to post ther recently under the same name. ;)
#21 princelian Mar 07, 2005 14:55:10	I always assumed the Egg of Coot was aimed at E. Gary Gygax as a joke; it might have been someone else of the original design staff; I'll keep my delusions, thank you very much. However, the EGG concept shows up in S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks if you look carefully at one of the ship level maps (Level 5, I think?). The bulkheads are clearly arranged to spell EGG.
#22 cwslyclgh Mar 07, 2005 15:08:08	However, the EGG concept shows up in S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks if you look carefully at one of the ship level maps (Level 5, I think?). The bulkheads are clearly arranged to spell EGG it is level 2, EGG is upside down, and includes .'s like initials, I think it has more to do with the initials of the module author then it does to do with the Egg of Coot.