Remembering Dungeon & Dragons (tm)

At the corner of 7th and Broadway in Rockford, Illinois was the original home of the Toad Hall Fantasy Horde, where I first played D&D in 1975.  

On the right is Steve Brown. Dungeon Master extraordinaire. You may have seen his miniature Orc Castle & Dungeon at the early Gen Cons in Lake Geneva. Steve is also the reason I don't own a 1st edition of D&D (woodgrain). Who would think the game would become collectible ? 8-)

I only played one Magic User in D&D. We played what we rolled. Benjamin lasted 3 minutes and was of course immortalized by our resident artist, Robert Garcia. 

And in 2024, USPS releases stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dungeon & Dragons (tm)

My original Boot Hill town at Toad Hall in 1974

The Phanta Carta

Photos of page ones from the first and second issues of my fanzine "Phanta Carta". Learned a lot from the experience and am proud that among our subscribers were Gary Gygax at TSR and Bob Bledsaw at Judges Guild.

Map of the "One Kingdom"

A rainy day, some free time and a discovery in an old file cabinet. A map of my original and only campaign called the "One Kingdom".  And yes I was an original member of Judges Guild.  Thanks to Bob and Bill at JG I became a better fanzine publisher.  Such pleasant memories on a rainy day. Happy to share.

Death deals its fatal blow

The most important images that inspired my fantasy role playing design and play were those of Frank Frazetta.

Thank you and may you Rest In Peace, Frank