Designer of RPGs and Board Games, Fiction & Non-Fiction Author,

D&D Historian, Game & Play Theorist

 

Robert J. Kuntz is one of the legendary founders of the D&D™ game and a first-wave alumnus of TSR, the company which in 1974 produced the world's first RPG in his home town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

 

Rob is the "Last Designer Standing" from the game's UR beginning; and he considers it a huge honor and duty to celebrate the people and sources that were instrumental in birthing and nurturing what he believes was a paradigm shift in game design and game theory.

 

Rob was born in 1955 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. In 1968 he met and became friends with Gary Gygax and his family. Besides mentoring him in writing and design Gary considered adopting him (at age 16).

 

In November, 1972 Gygax and Kuntz and several other LGTSA (Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association) members were on hand for Dave Arneson’s demonstration of his new “fantasy game,” Blackmoor, that he and his group in the Twin Cities had been playing since 1971. This meeting soon blossomed into what is known as the first commercial RPG, Dungeons & Dragons®. This started a blitz in creativity initially centered upon TSR Hobbies in Lake Geneva that has since continued unabated into the present.

 

Over his creative career, Robert Kuntz has accumulated many awards and accolades for his multi-faceted works. He has over 100 publishing credits to date.  His works have been read worldwide by millions and published in 20 languages.

 

In 2020 he announced his retirement from the print publication RPG industry to pursue other media projects including a contracted novel about, and film adaptation for, “Lake Geneva Days”.

 

Due to his unwavering commitment to his fans he licensed part of his RPG properties to Legends of Role Playing and TLB Games. He has reorganized his IP holdings under the RJK Estate umbrella, this in order to concentrate on a wide variety of projects for feature films, documentaries, CRPG ventures, fiction/non-fiction and 5E D&D™ ventures.

 

Robert Kuntz resides in Corsica, France with his charming wife Nathalie and their four spirited cats.

 

Contact the RJK Estate: rjk.estate@orange.fr

 

Dungeons & Dragons is a registered trademark of Wizards of the Coast.

Lucca Comics & Games 2015. Photo ©TLS.
Lucca Comics & Games 2015. Photo ©TLS.

Board Game, Miniature Rules,

RPG Play-testing:

  • Chainmail, play-tester
  • D&D Rules, primary play-tester (Original 1972-1974 play-test team)
  • Boot Hill, play-tester
  • Dunkirk board game, play-tester
  • Little Big Horn board game, play-tester
  • Alexander the Great board game, play-tester
  • Metamorphosis Alpha, play-tester
  • Dungeon! board game, play-tester
  • Divine Right board game, play-tester
  • Tractics, play-tester
  • Ancient Warfare, play-tester
  • Snits Revenge board game, play-tester
  • Awful Green Things from Outer Space board game, play-tester
  • Temple of Elemental Evil, play-tester
  • Tricolor, play-tester

 

(L-R) Ernie Gygax and Rob Kuntz playing Stratego. Photo courtesy of John Bobek.
(L-R) Ernie Gygax and Rob Kuntz playing Stratego. Photo courtesy of John Bobek.

Game Design/Development/Editing:

 

RPG (Rules):

  • Greyhawk, Supplement #1 to D&D, co-author
  • Blackmoor, Supplement #2 to D&D, developer/copy-editor
  • Gods, Demigods & Heroes, Supplement 4 to D&D, co-author
  • Swords and Spells, developer credit
  • Empire of the Petal Throne, copy-editor
  • Monster Manual, editorial assistance w/ Mike Carr final proofs
  • Dungeon Masters Guide, non-credited contributor (as per major contributions updated from Greyhawk: Supplement #1 to Classic D&D)
  • Deities and Demigods, co-author
  • Premium Original Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game (2013), co-authorship
(L-R) Dave Arneson and Rob Kuntz.
(L-R) Dave Arneson and Rob Kuntz.

Board Games:

  • Magus board game, designer
  • King of the Tabletop board game, co-designer
  • Lankhmar board game, co-design/development
  • Kings & Things board game (won 1986 Charles Roberts award), co-designer

RPG Adventures/Resources:

  • Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, author
  • Temple of Tharizdun, significant contributor credit
Lucca Comics & Games 2015. Photo ©TLS.
Lucca Comics & Games 2015. Photo ©TLS.

Three Little Books Adventures:

Legends of Roleplaying:

Maze of Zayene series, author:

  • Prisoners of the Maze, Part 1, MoZ series
  • Dimensions of Flight, Part 2, MoZ series
  • Tower Chaos, author, Part 3, MoZ series
  • The Eight Kings, Part 4, MoZ series
  • Garden of the Plantmaster, author
  • Fate of Istus, co-author
  • The Stalk, author
  • Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, co-design by major contributions
  • Daemonic & Arcane, author
  • The Bottle City, author
  • El Raja Key's Arcane Treasury, co-author
  • Cairn of the Skeleton King, author
  • Tower of Blood, co-author
  • The Living Room, author
  • Ice Grave, author
  • Dark Druids, author
Castle El Raja Key's The Lake Level adventure premiered at AthensCon 2017.
Castle El Raja Key's The Lake Level adventure premiered at AthensCon 2017.

 HackMaster:

  • Sir Robilar's City of Brass, co-author

 

RPGA:

  • Journey to the City of Brass, (Dragon Con 1 tournament adventure; final round adjudicated by Kuntz & Gygax), author

 

 Maure Castle series:

  • The Statuary (July 2004; Dungeon Magazine #112), author
  • Chambers of Antiquities (July 2005; Dungeon Magazine #124), author
  • The Greater Halls (Oct 2006; Dungeon Magazine #139), author
Rob Kuntz playing Little Wars by H.G. Wells. Photo courtesy of John Bobek.
Rob Kuntz playing Little Wars by H.G. Wells. Photo courtesy of John Bobek.

Castles & Crusades:

 

Castle Zagyg:

  • Dark Chateau, author

 

D&D® 5e/ 1e:

 

The Dimensions of Dowda (in both 5e and 1e)

 

(L-R) Rob Kuntz and Mark Rein-Hagen, at Lucca Comics & Games 2015.
(L-R) Rob Kuntz and Mark Rein-Hagen, at Lucca Comics & Games 2015.

Convention RPG Adventures:

  • The Sunken City, GenCon VIII, author
  • The Mad House (convention workshop dungeon), NTRPG Con, lead designer
  • Dungeon of Death, NTRPG Con, author
  • Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, Origins II, co-designer
  • The Lake Level (Castle El Raja Key), AthensCon 2017, author
  • Warlock's Walk adventure module, GenCon 40 UK

Electronic media:

 

Non-fiction:

 

Columns:

  1. The Beginning: 1968 and Meeting Gary Gygax and the Gygax Family
  2. Greyhawk Theatrics, Comments and Quips in Play: Snippets, Funny Lines and Outbursts from the Lake Geneva Gamers
  3. Gary's Immersion in Castle El Raja Key: The Four-Way Footsteps
  4. Gencon IX: When Many Sought Adventure
  5. Burmania! Part 1: Check Your Sanity at the Door
  6. Burmania! Part 2: "Keep on Going!"

 

Fiction (authored):

  • Journey to the City of the Gods short story (with commentary by David L. Arneson)
  • Quest for the Vermillion Volume short story
  • Black Festival novella

 

ERKA Poster Maps:

 

Filmography:

 

Game Design Workshops, Seminars, Panel Discussions

(by Convention, 1987-present):

 

● GENCON ● DRAGON CON ● NORTH TEXAS RPG CON ●

● GARY CON ● LUCCA COMICS & GAMES ● ATHENSCON ●

 

Award Nominations (3):

  • Kings & Things board game (won)
  • Sir Robilar's City of Brass (lost)
  • Maure Castle, Dungeon Magazine #112 (won)
"Lateral Thought Processing in Real-Time RPG Design" workshop at Lucca Comics and Games 2015.
"Lateral Thought Processing in Real-Time RPG Design" workshop at Lucca Comics and Games 2015.

Publishers (1975-current):

(L-R) Terry Kuntz, Rob Kuntz, John Bobek and Bill Hoyer (RIP) at Gary Con, Lake Geneva (WI).
(L-R) Terry Kuntz, Rob Kuntz, John Bobek and Bill Hoyer (RIP) at Gary Con, Lake Geneva (WI).

Magazine Contributions (1973-current, by periodical):

 

Q&A session at AthensCon 2017. Photo ©TLS.
Q&A session at AthensCon 2017. Photo ©TLS.

Conventions Chaired:

  • GENCON 8 & 9, Chairman
  • Winter Fantasy 1, Chairman

 

Game Industry/Hobby Distinctions/Notable Achievements:

 

IFW member; LGTSA President; "King" Castle & Crusades Society; Editor, The Domesday Book; lead play-tester Dungeons & Dragons; TSR founding era employee; 3rd longest-standing Fantasy RPG world (World of Kalibruhn, designed top>down); first fiction published by TSR (Quest for the Vermillion Volume); TSR's content editor for Judges Guild licensed D&D products; President Creations Unlimited and Pied Piper Publishing; Charles Roberts Award winner; Golden Ennie Award winner; conceptualized, forwarded and instituted the first designer-received award for RPG design excellence in the industry (the Three Castles Award).

Rob Kuntz at Titmouse Studio, Hollywood CA.
Rob Kuntz at Titmouse Studio, Hollywood CA.

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Miscellaneous:

Select Online Resources:

Our Partners & Friends:


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rjk.estate@orange.fr