Troll Lord Games is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 publisher of role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

s (based on fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 and swords & sorcery themes), The Crusader magazine and other board/dice/card games.

They are best known for the Castles & Crusades

Castles & Crusades

Castles & Crusades is a role-playing game published by Troll Lord Games in 2004. It was conceived as a reimagining of classic Dungeons & Dragons using streamlined mechanics from third edition Dungeons & Dragons. The game uses many of the d20 System mechanics, but eliminates skills and feats and...

 role-playing game consisting of a Player's Handbook, Monsters & Treasures book as well as scores of other C&C adventure modules and accessories. They served as Gary Gygax's primary publisher from 2001–2008, publishing Lejendary Adventure

Lejendary Adventure

Lejendary Adventure is a role-playing game created by Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, and creator of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons...

, Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds and other book lines.

History

TLG's first published products were a series of adventures designed for the Swords and Sorcery RPG. This RPG was developed by Davis Chenault and Mac Golden. TLG debuted these three adventures, the game system and Stephen Chenault's The After Winter's Dark campaign world at Gencon in 2000. These releases coincided with the release of d20 Dungeons and Dragons. Within a very short while TLG republished the books under the d20 license. At about this time they signed Gary Gygax

Gary Gygax

Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....

 and committed to the Gygaxian Fantasy World series. The series was launched with The Canting Crew, by Gary Gygax, in 2001.

Shortly thereafter TLG published the Codex of Erde (later Aihrde), a fantasy world campaign setting

Campaign setting

A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...

 and sourcebook for RPGs. It saw release in 2001 and was written by Stephen Chenault and Mac Golden with contributions by Davis Chenault and Gary Gygax

Gary Gygax

Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....

.

Stephen Chenault recounts the origins of the Codex of Erde and how they were enmeshed with the founding of TLG as a company, in The Crusader Magazine.

In this book, Gary Gygax wrote an introductory adventure, Search for a Lost City. It was a prelude to another TLG RPG book also released in 2001, called The Lost City of Gaxmoor, written by Ernie Gygax and Luke Gygax.

TLG also produced and published a string of RPG adventure modules taking place in the fantasy campaign world of Erde. These include:

Another module written for the world of Erde was called Dark Druids written by Robert J. Kuntz

Robert J. Kuntz

Robert J. Kuntz is a game designer and author of role-playing game publications. He is most famous for his contributions to various Dungeons & Dragons-related materials.-Works:...

, RPG

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

 author and ex-employee of TSR, Inc. It was released in 2002.

Also, in 2002 Gary Gygax and TLG continued to work together to produce the Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds series of RPG “world builder” books.

In 2005 TLG took over the publishing of Gary Gygax’s Lejendary Adventure

Lejendary Adventure

Lejendary Adventure is a role-playing game created by Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, and creator of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons...

 products and produced a boxed set with a scaled down version of the rules and monsters called Essentials. Following this, came the release of Living the Legend, a LA module written by Gygax.

2008 saw a new hard cover release and reprinting of the Greyhawk Adventures

Greyhawk Adventures

Greyhawk Adventures is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons World of Greyhawk campaign setting.-Contents:Greyhawk Adventures contains information about Greyhawk deities and clerics, major non-player characters, monsters, geography, spells of the setting's famous magic-users , magic items of the...

 book - "Saga of Old City" ~ a Gord the Rogue

Gord the Rogue

Gord the Rogue is the protagonist in a series of fantasy novels and short stories written by Gary Gygax. Gygax originally wrote the novels and short stories to promote his World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. After he left TSR, Gygax continued to write...

 novel by Gary Gygax.

Castles & Crusades

The Castles & Crusades RPG Collector’s Box Set was produced in 2004. It contained a Players Handbook, a Monsters & Treasure booklet and an introductory adventure booklet; all were digest size like the original Dungeons and Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons (1974)

The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson was published by TSR, Inc. in 1974. It initially included the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...

 boxed set.

The year 2005 proved to be a busy and productive year for TLG:

• They released Gary Gygax’s 256 page, RPG campaign setting/adventures book called Castle Zagyg
  Zagyg
  In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Zagyg is the god of Humor, Eccentricity, Occult Lore, and Unpredictability...
  
  : Yggsburgh for the Castles & Crusades game. A large double-sided fold out color map of the city and environs was rendered by Darlene, the former TSR, Inc artist who drew the World of Greyhawk
  Greyhawk
  Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
  
  hex map that was included with the WoG boxed set.

• The first module written for Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh was another one from Robert J. Kuntz
  Robert J. Kuntz
  Robert J. Kuntz is a game designer and author of role-playing game publications. He is most famous for his contributions to various Dungeons & Dragons-related materials.-Works:...
  
  , called Dark Chateau.

• Davis Chenault wrote and TLG published the first full RPG module in the A series of adventures, for Castles & Crusades set in the fantasy world of Erde. It is titled Assault on Blacktooth Ridge (A1). (A2 through A5 have been released of the total 13 planned).

Gary Gygax continued to work on the next Castle Zagyg volume (at that time Volume II) into 2006 and 2007.

At Gen Con

Gen Con

Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...

 40 in 2007, Gary Gygax was the Guest of Honor at the TLG booth. It would be his last Gen Con. The long awaited Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works made its debut at the TLG booth the following year, 2008.

In 2007 TLG published an update of the fantasy campaign World of Erde, changing the name to Aihrde and releasing a 48 page gazetteer called After Winter’s Dark which established Aihrde as the official Castles & Crusades adventure setting.

A collection of alternate rules and guidelines for modifying the system, the Castle Keepers Guide, was released in February, 2011

Castles & Crusades

• Castles & Crusades Players Handbook (4th Printing)
• Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure (2nd Printing)
• Castles & Crusades Castle Keepers Guide
• Of Gods & Monsters
• Monsters & Treasure of Aihrde

Adventures

• A0: Rising Knight
• A1: Assault on Black Tooth
• A2: The Slag Heap
• A3: The Wicked Cauldron
• A4: Usurpers of the Fell Axe
• A5: Shattered Horn
• A6: Banishment & Blight
• A7: Beneath the Despairing Stone
• Umbrage Saga Box Set
• C1: The Mortality of Green
• C2: Shades of Mist
• I1: Vakhund
• I2: Dzeebagd
• I3: Felsentheim
• U1: Shadows of the Halfling Hall
• U2: Verdant Rage
• U3: Fingers of the Forsaken
• DB1: Haunted Highlands
• DB2: Crater of Umeshti
• DB3: The Deeper Darkness
• DB4: Dro Mandras
• DB5: Conquered East
• DB6: Dwellers in the Darkness
• D1 Chimera Roost
• Towers of Adventure
• Heart of Glass
• S1 Lure of Delusion
• S2 Dwarven Glory

The Crusader Journal

• The Crusader No. 1
• The Crusader No. 2
• The Crusader No. 3
• The Crusader No. 4
• The Crusader No. 5
• The Crusader No. 6
• The Crusader No. 7
• The Crusader No. 8
• The Crusader No. 9
• The Crusader No. 10
• The Crusader No. 11
• The Crusader No. 12
• The Crusader No. 13
• The Crusader No. 14
• The Crusader No. 15
• The Crusader No. 16
• The Crusader No. 17
• The Crusader No. 18
• The Crusader No. 19
• The Crusader No. 20
• The Crusader No. 21
• The Crusader No. 22
• The Crusader No. 23

Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds

• Gary Gygax's The Canting Crew (GFW Vol. I) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• Gary Gygax's World Builder (GFW Vol. II) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• Gary Gygax's Living Fantasy (GFW Vol. III) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names (GFW Vol. IV) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• Gary Gygax's Insidiae (GFW V) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• Gary Gygax's Nation Builder (GFW VI) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• Gary Gygax's Cosmos Builder (GFW Vol. VII) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)

Lejendary Adventure

• Lejendary Adventure Essentials
• Hall of Many Panes
• More Beasts of Legend
• Living the Legend
• They Who Watch
• Fish for Breakfast
• Problem of Manors
• The Hermit
• The Rock

d20

• Vakhund: Into the Unknown
• Dzeebagd: Under Dark)
• Felsentheim: Dogs of War
• By Shadow of Night
• A Lion in the Ropes
• Galal’s Grave)
• The Malady of Kings
• Winter Runes, BR I
• The Mortality of Green
• The Fantastic Adventure
• Heart of Glass
• St. Anton’s Fire
• Blood Royal
• City Sourcebook Vol I: NPC
• Temple of Kubla Khan
• Tomb of Kubla Khan
• The Dungeon of Kubla Khan
• Brystle Vale
• The Lost City of Gaxmoor
• Dark Druids

Publications By Year

2000

• After Winters Dark Fantasy Campaign Setting (Swords & Sorcery)
• The Mortality of Green (Swords & Sorcery)
• The Fantastic Adventure (Swords & Sorcery)
• Vakhund Into the Unknown (Swords & Sorcery)
• Galal's Grave (A Fiend Games Production) (d20)

2001

• Lion in the Ropes (d20)
• Malady of Kings (d20)
• Vakhund Into the Unknown (d20)
• Dzeebagd Under Dark & Misty Ground (d20)
• Felsentheim Dogs of war (d20)
• The Fantastic Adventure (d20)
• The Mortality of Green (d20)
• The Codex of Erde (d20)

2002

• Gary Gygax's The Canting Crew (GFW Vol. I) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• The Lost City of Gaxmoor (d20)
• Winter Runes (d20)
• Bergholt (d20)
• Gary Gygax's World Builder (GFW Vol. II) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)

2003

• Gary Gygax's Living Fantasy (GFW Vol. III) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)

2004

• Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names (GFW Vol. IV) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• The Book of Familiars (d20)
• Gary Gygax's World Builder (2nd Printing) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• Castles & Crusades Players Handbook (1st Printing) (Castles & Crusades)

2005

• Monsters & Treasure (Castles & Crusades)

2006

• Gary Gygax's Cosmos Builder (GFW Vol. VII) (d20/Lejendary Adventure)
• Fish for Breakfest (Lejendary Adventure)

2007

• Castles & Crusades Players Handbook (3rd Printing) (Castles & Crusades)

2008

• Gary Gygax's Castle Zagyg Upper Works (Castles & Crusades)
• Star Siege (Siege Engine)

2009

• Of Gods & Monsters (Castles & Crusades)
• Tainted Lands (Siege Engine, Castles & Crusades)
• Castles & Crusades Players Handbook (4th Printing) (Castles & Crusades)
• Heart of Glass (Castles & Crusades)

2010

• Harvesters (Castles & Crusades)
• Monsters & Treasure of Aihrde
• Fields of Battle (Castles & Crusades)

2011

• Castles & Crusades Castle Keepers Guide (Castles & Crusades)