David Kenzer
{{Short description|American game designer}}
{{notability|Biographies|date=June 2017}}
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|name = David Kenzer
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|nationality = American
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|occupation = Game designer
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David S. Kenzer is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.
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.{{Cite book|author=Shannon Appelcline|title=Designers & Dragons|publisher=Mongoose Publishing|year=2011| isbn= 978-1-907702-58-7}}{{rp|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."{{rp|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.{{rp|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.{{rp|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.{{rp|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.{{rp|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.{{rp|312}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=2809 David S. Kenzer :: Pen & Paper RPG Database] [https://web.archive.org/web/20070519225746/http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=2809 archive]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenzer, David}}