Dave_Kenzer

David Kenzer

David Kenzer

American game designer


David S. Kenzer is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.

Quick Facts Nationality, Occupation ...

Career

David Kenzer was a lawyer who started the game company Kenzer & Company with his friends Brian Jelke and Steve Johansson, and their first project was The Kingdom of Kalamar (1994), a fantasy setting without a game system.[1]:309 Kenzer understood trademark law, and had "suitable for use with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons printed on the back cover, and included the disclaimer text "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is a registered trademark of TSR Hobbies, Inc. Use of this trademark is NOT sanctioned by the holder."[1]:309 Kenzer began a casual relationship with Alderac Entertainment Group after releasing The Kingdom of Kalamar, as that young company was then publishing Shadis magazine with Jolly Blackburn as editor.[1]:309 Kenzer and his staff wanted Blackburn to join Kenzer & Company after he left AEG in 1995, and David Kenzer and others visited him in November 1996 during a local convention, during which Blackburn became convinced that Kenzer had the business sense and integrity he wanted in a partner.[1]:309 Kenzer & Company began publishing the Knights of the Dinner Table comic books by Blackburn, and beginning with issue #5 (February 1997) it became the work of the "KoDT Development Team" made up of Blackburn, Kenzer, Jelke and Johansson.[1]:310 Kenzer acquired the license to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons from Wizards of the Coast that allowed the company to release HackMaster (2001) as a satire of AD&D.[1]:311 Kenzer was not willing to sign the Game System License that Wizards offered when they released 4th edition D&D in 2008, and he instead published a 501-page PDF for Kingdoms of Kalamar (2008) and did not reach out to Wizards for authorization.[1]:312


References

  1. Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.

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