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Richard Baker (game designer)

January 07, 2023

Richard Baker (full name L. Richard Baker III) is an American author and game designer who has worked on many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings.

L. Richard Baker III
BornFlorida, United States
OccupationGame designer
NationalityAmerican
EducationVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
GenreRole-playing games, fantasy, science fiction
SpouseKim Rohrbach

Early life, education, and military

Rich Baker was born and raised in Florida, then moved with his family to New Jersey at age ten.[1] Baker graduated from Virginia Tech in 1988 with a degree in English.[1] He received a commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, and served as a deck officer for three years on board the USS Tortuga; he qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and was a lieutenant (junior grade) by the time he left the Navy.[1] Baker married his college sweetheart, Kim Rohrbach.[1] They have two daughters, Alex and Hannah.[2]

Career

Baker began looking for a new career, and found one at TSR. "I'd been playing the AD&D game off and on since 1979. When I decided to leave the Navy, I sent TSR my résumé just for the pure hell of it. TSR sent me back a writing test, which I must have done pretty well on, since they brought me out for an interview in September of 1991. I'd never published a word before then or even worked the convention circuit, but they hired me anyway."[1]

After joining TSR in 1991, Rich worked on most of TSR's product lines at one point or another.[citation needed] By 1998, he had published over thirty game products and many magazine articles.[1] Baker started out writing game products such as Rock of Bral for the Spelljammer line, as well as material for the Forgotten Realms, Planescape, and Ravenloft settings.[1] Baker and Colin McComb co-designed the Birthright campaign setting.[3]: 29  The Birthright Campaign Setting boxed set won the 1995 Origins Award for Best New Role-Playing Supplement: "I'm very proud of it. It represents an entirely new approach to the traditional fantasy roleplaying campaign, and the world itself is filled with a strong sense of history."[1] Baker also oversaw the development of the Player's Option series of second edition AD&D manuals, stating "I greatly enjoyed the work I did on the World Builder's Guidebook".[1]

Baker went on to co-design the Alternity science fiction game: "As much as I am proud of my other work, I probably learned the most from the work Bill [Slavicsek] and I put into the Alterity game system. Designing a new roleplaying game from the ground up is an immensely complicated undertaking, and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out."[1] Alternity had been completed while at TSR and was intended to replace Amazing Engine as the company's generic science-fiction system, but was released by Wizards of the Coast after they bought TSR.[3]: 284  Aside from various Alternity products, Baker also worked on the Star*Drive and Dark•Matter settings for the game, and worked as Creative Director on them for a time.[1] Baker wrote several novels for various settings as well.[1]

His game work includes Dungeons & Dragons (3rd and 4th Edition), Axis & Allies Miniatures, Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures: War at Sea, and numerous Dungeons & Dragons adventures and sourcebooks.[2]

Rich lived in New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island, Virginia again, Louisiana, Virginia a third time, and Wisconsin, but now lives in Auburn, Washington, with his wife Kim, two daughters, and cats. He's a fan of Golden Age SF and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rich was at the forefront of Wizards of the Coast's range of Forgotten Realms and core Third Edition D&D accessory books, and author of several novels set in and below Faerûn. He also answered questions about the Forgotten Realms at the Wizards website's forums – see the below external links.

Baker led the SCRAMJET team, including James Wyatt, Matt Sernett, Ed Stark, Michele Carter, Stacy Longstreet, and Chris Perkins; this team updated the setting and cosmology of D&D as the fourth edition was being developed.[3]: 298  Baker and Bruce Cordell wrote a new release of the Gamma World Roleplaying Game (2010), based on the fourth edition D&D rules.[3]: 302  He also headed design on the 4th edition D&D iteration of the Dark Sun Campaign Setting, along with numerous other credits for that edition of the game.

He was also at the forefront of designing the series "Axis and Allies: War at Sea", a game of tactical World War II naval battles.

On December 14, 2011, Baker announced on his Wizards.com community page that Wizards of the Coast had eliminated his position and he would no longer be an employee of the company. He acknowledged the possibility that he would continue to write for the Forgotten Realms novel line, and hoped to continue design work on the company's miniature lines on a freelance basis.[4]

In 2020, Baker announced on his blog that he was joining ZeniMax Online Studios as a senior writer on the Elder Scrolls Online video game.[5]

Bibliography

Forgotten Realms Accessory Books/Adventure Modules

Creative Director of:

Developer of:

Dark-Sun Accessory Books/Adventure Modules

Other Dungeons & Dragons Accessory Books/Adventure Modules

Gamma World 7th Edition

  • Gamma World Roleplaying Game Rulebook (with Bruce R. Cordell) (2010)
  • Gamma World Roleplaying Game Expansion: Legion of Gold (with Bruce R. Cordell) (2011)

Novels

Board games

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kenson, Stephen (June 1999). "ProFiles: Rich Baker". Dragon. Renton, Washington: Wizards of the Coast (#260): 112.
  2. ^ a b . Archived from the original on February 24, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
  4. ^ . Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  5. ^ richardbakerauthor (February 20, 2020). "Eastbound!". Richard Baker. Retrieved June 22, 2021.

External links

January 07, 2023
richard, baker, game, designer, richard, baker, full, name, richard, baker, american, author, game, designer, worked, many, dungeons, dragons, campaign, settings, richard, baker, iiibornflorida, united, statesoccupationgame, designernationalityamericaneducatio. Richard Baker full name L Richard Baker III is an American author and game designer who has worked on many Dungeons amp Dragons campaign settings L Richard Baker IIIBornFlorida United StatesOccupationGame designerNationalityAmericanEducationVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityGenreRole playing games fantasy science fictionSpouseKim Rohrbach Contents 1 Early life education and military 2 Career 3 Bibliography 3 1 Forgotten Realms Accessory Books Adventure Modules 3 2 Dark Sun Accessory Books Adventure Modules 3 3 Other Dungeons amp Dragons Accessory Books Adventure Modules 3 4 Gamma World 7th Edition 3 5 Novels 3 6 Board games 4 References 5 External linksEarly life education and military EditRich Baker was born and raised in Florida then moved with his family to New Jersey at age ten 1 Baker graduated from Virginia Tech in 1988 with a degree in English 1 He received a commission as an ensign in the U S Navy and served as a deck officer for three years on board the USS Tortuga he qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and was a lieutenant junior grade by the time he left the Navy 1 Baker married his college sweetheart Kim Rohrbach 1 They have two daughters Alex and Hannah 2 Career EditBaker began looking for a new career and found one at TSR I d been playing the AD amp D game off and on since 1979 When I decided to leave the Navy I sent TSR my resume just for the pure hell of it TSR sent me back a writing test which I must have done pretty well on since they brought me out for an interview in September of 1991 I d never published a word before then or even worked the convention circuit but they hired me anyway 1 After joining TSR in 1991 Rich worked on most of TSR s product lines at one point or another citation needed By 1998 he had published over thirty game products and many magazine articles 1 Baker started out writing game products such as Rock of Bral for the Spelljammer line as well as material for the Forgotten Realms Planescape and Ravenloft settings 1 Baker and Colin McComb co designed the Birthright campaign setting 3 29 The Birthright Campaign Setting boxed set won the 1995 Origins Award for Best New Role Playing Supplement I m very proud of it It represents an entirely new approach to the traditional fantasy roleplaying campaign and the world itself is filled with a strong sense of history 1 Baker also oversaw the development of the Player s Option series of second edition AD amp D manuals stating I greatly enjoyed the work I did on the World Builder s Guidebook 1 Baker went on to co design the Alternity science fiction game As much as I am proud of my other work I probably learned the most from the work Bill Slavicsek and I put into the Alterity game system Designing a new roleplaying game from the ground up is an immensely complicated undertaking and I m very pleased with the way it turned out 1 Alternity had been completed while at TSR and was intended to replace Amazing Engine as the company s generic science fiction system but was released by Wizards of the Coast after they bought TSR 3 284 Aside from various Alternity products Baker also worked on the Star Drive and Dark Matter settings for the game and worked as Creative Director on them for a time 1 Baker wrote several novels for various settings as well 1 His game work includes Dungeons amp Dragons 3rd and 4th Edition Axis amp Allies Miniatures Axis amp Allies Naval Miniatures War at Sea and numerous Dungeons amp Dragons adventures and sourcebooks 2 Rich lived in New Jersey Virginia Rhode Island Virginia again Louisiana Virginia a third time and Wisconsin but now lives in Auburn Washington with his wife Kim two daughters and cats He s a fan of Golden Age SF and the Philadelphia Phillies Rich was at the forefront of Wizards of the Coast s range of Forgotten Realms and core Third Edition D amp D accessory books and author of several novels set in and below Faerun He also answered questions about the Forgotten Realms at the Wizards website s forums see the below external links Baker led the SCRAMJET team including James Wyatt Matt Sernett Ed Stark Michele Carter Stacy Longstreet and Chris Perkins this team updated the setting and cosmology of D amp D as the fourth edition was being developed 3 298 Baker and Bruce Cordell wrote a new release of the Gamma World Roleplaying Game 2010 based on the fourth edition D amp D rules 3 302 He also headed design on the 4th edition D amp D iteration of the Dark Sun Campaign Setting along with numerous other credits for that edition of the game He was also at the forefront of designing the series Axis and Allies War at Sea a game of tactical World War II naval battles On December 14 2011 Baker announced on his Wizards com community page that Wizards of the Coast had eliminated his position and he would no longer be an employee of the company He acknowledged the possibility that he would continue to write for the Forgotten Realms novel line and hoped to continue design work on the company s miniature lines on a freelance basis 4 In 2020 Baker announced on his blog that he was joining ZeniMax Online Studios as a senior writer on the Elder Scrolls Online video game 5 Bibliography EditForgotten Realms Accessory Books Adventure Modules Edit Unapproachable East 2003 Player s Guide to Faerun 2004 Creative Director of Magic of Faerun 2001 Lords of Darkness 2001 Races of Faerun 2003 Developer of Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2001 Lords of Darkness 2001 Races of Faerun 2003 Unapproachable East 2003 Underdark 2003 Dark Sun Accessory Books Adventure Modules Edit Valley of Dust and Fire 1992 The Will and the Way Psionicists of Athas 1994 Dragon s Crown 1993 Merchant House of Amketch 1993 Other Dungeons amp Dragons Accessory Books Adventure Modules Edit Spells amp Magic 1996 World Builder s Guidebook 1996 Planescape Monstrous Compendium II Planescape 1999 The Forge of Fury 2000 Complete Arcane 2004 Tome of Battle 2006 Red Hand of Doom 2006 Lost Mine of Phandelver 2014 Gamma World 7th Edition Edit Gamma World Roleplaying Game Rulebook with Bruce R Cordell 2010 Gamma World Roleplaying Game Expansion Legion of Gold with Bruce R Cordell 2011 Novels Edit The Adventures The Shadow Stone 1998 Double Diamond Triangle Saga Easy Betrayals 1998 Star Drive Zero Point 1999 Birthright The Falcon and the Wolf 2000 online publication 1 The Cities The City of Ravens 2000 R A Salvatore s War of the Spider Queen Condemnation 2003 The Last Mythal Forsaken House 2004 Farthest Reach 2005 Final Gate 2006 Blades of Moonsea The Swordmage 2008 Corsair 2009 Avenger 2010 Breaker of Empires Valiant Dust 2017 Restless Lightning 2018 Scornful Stars 2019 Board games Edit Risk Godstorm 2004 Ultimate Scheme 2017 References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l Kenson Stephen June 1999 ProFiles Rich Baker Dragon Renton Washington Wizards of the Coast 260 112 a b Rich Baker Archived from the original on February 24 2009 a b c d Shannon Appelcline 2011 Designers amp Dragons Mongoose Publishing ISBN 978 1 907702 58 7 Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast Archived from the original on February 25 2021 Retrieved June 22 2021 richardbakerauthor February 20 2020 Eastbound Richard Baker Retrieved June 22 2021 External links Edit Richard Baker at RPG Database Pen amp Paper Archived from the original on May 9 2008 Wizards com interview The old Ask Richard Baker thread at wizards com forums The old Ask the Core Rules and Supplement Authors thread at wizards com forums The new Ask the Core Rules and Supplement Authors thread at wizards com forums Rich Baker s Blog at wizards com Archived from the original on June 17 2013 Rich Baker s Blog Richard Baker at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Richard Baker game designer amp oldid 1106927539, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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