Editor, teacher, and Dungeons and Dragons legend Tim Kask has passed away at the age of 76. Best known as the editor of Dragon Magazine and the first official employee of Dungeons and Dragons creator TSR, this iconic figure of the TTRPG community will be sorely missed.
The first edition of Dungeons and Dragons was released in 1974, published by Tactical Studies Rules, later known simply as TSR. Founded by Gary Gygax, TSR was responsible for both the original and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, creating and shepherding the famous tabletop roleplaying game until Wizards of the Coast acquired it in 1997.
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Dungeons and Dragons Editor Tim Kask Dies at Age 76
Now, one of the original minds who helped shape Dungeons and Dragons into what it is has died. On December 30, Tim Kask passed away due to complications from a sudden illness. The 76-year-old lifelong gamer was surrounded by friends and family at the end of his life.
Kask was the very first full-time employee of TSR, hired in 1975 by Gygax as an editor for Dungeons and Dragons. He is credited with editing and contributing to most of the supplements from first edition D&D, including Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, Gods, Demi-Gods, & Heroes, and Swords & Spells. He was also responsible for hiring influential TSR developers, including assistant editor Kim Mohan, and even authorized the creation of The Dungeoneer, a player-run magazine and one of the first pieces of fan-made homebrew D&D content.
After correspondence pertaining to TSR wargame Chainmail, Gygax eventually invited Kask to meet him at Gen Con, where he became one of the first people outside Gygax’s family to playtest Dungeons and Dragons, then simply known as “The Fantasy Game.”
However, perhaps one of the things Kask is most well-known for is his work for TSR Periodicals. He was the editor for TSR’s magazine, The Strategic Review, which he later split into two separate periodicals: the D&D-focused Dragon Magazine and the miniatures and board game-focused Little Wars. Beyond that, he also edited plenty of other non-D&D products, including William the Conqueror, 1066, TSR’s historical board game.
Tim Kask’s Departure from Dungeons and Dragons
In 1980, Kask departed from TSR over disagreements pertaining to the creation of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, the edition popularized by Stranger Things. He claimed things started “going bad with the publishing of AD&D, The Player’s Handbook.” Kask preferred that Dungeons and Dragons stay “a free-wheeling game, only loosely bound by the parameters of the rules,” and the pivot in direction contributed to his resignation.
Kask made several other forays into the gaming sphere after leaving TSR, including the redevelopment of the Naval War card game for Avalon Hill and the release of a new magazine called Adventure Gaming, but the recession eventually forced him to pursue other avenues. He became a freelance editor and ghostwriter, later getting his master’s degree in education in 2002.
Thankfully, the gaming industry had not seen the last of Kask. He appeared as a celebrity auctioneer and special guest along with Frank Mentzer at Gen Con for many years, starting in 2006, and wrote columns for Jim Ward’s The Crusader magazine, later teaming up with both fellow former TSR employees to create Eldritch Enterprises in 2010 to continue making TTRPG content. In 2012, Kask also became a contributing author to Gygax Magazine in partnership with Gary’s sons, Ernie and Luke, until publication ceased in 2016 due to a trademark dispute with Gary’s widow, Gail Gygax.
Though Dungeons and Dragons has seen three more editions released since Kask was involved, his legacy can still be felt in the TTRPG today. Dragon Magazine continued to be published until 2014, with a total of 430 issues being made over the years. Additionally, Kask’s very first Dungeons and Dragons character, an artificer named Kwalish, has been immortalized in modern D&D in the form of the Apparatus of Kwalish, a crustacean-like submarine, and The Lost Laboratory of Kwalish, an official 5th Edition mini-adventure. Needless to say, Dungeons and Dragons would not be the same as it is today without Tim Kask.
- Franchise
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Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
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1974
- Designer
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E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
Created by Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop game in which players craft their own worlds and band together to take on adventures through mysterious realms outlined in companion materials. One of the best role-playing games ever made, it has been adapted into a variety of video games and other media.
Source: EN World
