Dave Arneson

Dave Arneson (December 1 1955 - April 2009) was the co-author, with Gary Gygax, of the original 1970s role playing game Dungeons & Dragons and an important figure in the history of role playing games. Arneson's Blackmoor, published by Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), was one of the first published role playing game campaign settings and has the distinction of being the longest continuously played fantasy role playing campaign at 25 years and counting.

Career

In the early 1980s Arneson established his own game company Adventure Games which produced the miniature games Johnny Reb and Harpoon. Arneson had a cameo in the 2001 Dungeons & Dragons movie as a mage. In 2002 he suffered a stroke. He was working as a game designer, reviewer, video historian and lecturer. He was a recluse. He died in 2009.

Zeitgeist Games, where Arneson worked, produced an updated d20 system version of Blackmoor to have been published by Goodman Games.