D&D General Tim Kask, TSR's First Employee, Passes At Age 76

The very first full-time employee of TSR, the company which created D&D, passed away last night after a sudden illness.

A playtester for early versions of Dungeons & Dragons and TSR's first employee in 1975, Tim Kask worked as an editor for the company, notably for Dragon Magazine. He left TSR in 1980, protesting against the creation of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, later became a teacher, and more recently co-founded Eldritch Enterprises, along with fellow industry veterans Frank Mentzer, Jim Ward, and Chris Clark.

One of Tim Kask's D&D characters was called Kwalish. Later, Kwalish--like other characters from that period--was immortalised by TSR with the Apparatus of Kwalish.

Tim passed peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by family and friends. Our thoughts go out to those who knew him.

 

[daddystabz]

RIP

 

[MGibster]

It's kind of sad I didn't know who Tim Kask was until a few years ago. Until fairly recently, I never took an interest in how the sausage was made, Kask had left the gaming industry before I started playing, and another name had become synonymous with D&D. I've appreciated various efforts over the last few years that have highlighted the contributions people like Kask, Jennell Jaquays, and others made to our hobby.

And of course it's a sad fact that time marches on for all of us. Many of us here have certainly reached the age where we've started losing the artists we associated with your youth. At least we've got some good memories though.