The Bell Tolls for Brian J. Blume
One of the co-founders of TSR and the co-creator of wild west RPG Boot Hill died last weekend, he was 70. He was instrumental in the development of many games.
Brian John Blume was born in Oak Park, IL in 1950. His journey towards TSR began shortly after attending Wabash college, when Blume followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a tool and die maker.
He and the other co-founders of TSR met at one of the original Gen Cons, where Blume, Gygax, and Don Kaye became the founders of the company that would create Dungeons & Dragons. Blume’s involvement with the game is one that should not be overlooked. Blume’s father, Melvin Blume, provided the financial backing for the first 1,000 copies of the D&D boxed set, and Blume helped spur the game on from there.
Open up the 1st Edition Monster Manual and you’ll find Blume singled out for thanks in the preface, and you’ll find his name called out in the 1978 Player’s Handbook and Dungeons Master’s Guide. And when the Basic Rules set was expanded with the Companion Rules, the whole set is dedicated to Blume:
This game is like a huge tree, grown from the seeds planted in 1972 and even earlier. But as a plant needs water and sun, so does a game need proper “backing” – a company to make it. As the saying goes, “for want of a nail, the war was lost”; and for want of a company, the D&D game might have been lost amidst the lean and turbulent years of the last decade. This set is therefore dedicated to an oft-neglected leader of TSR, Inc; who, with Gary Gygax, founded this company and made it grow. The D&D Companion Set is dedicated to
BRIAN BLUME
Along with Gygax, Brian Blume co-authored Eldritch Wizardry, the third-ever supplement for Dungeons & Dragons. This supplement introduced to the game the concept of Druids, Psionics, demons and demon lords Orcus and Demogorgon, monsters that wielded psionics, like Mind-Flayers, as well as powerful artifacts, like the Rod of Seven Parts and the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords.
This is where Vecna comes in, and as the story goes, Blume named Vecna after fantasy author Jack Vance., and is one of two people responsible for the creation of the Monnk in the game. So while Blume’s mark on D&D might not be as strongly remembered as Gygax, but it should not be forgotten.
In the early days of TSR, Blume co-authored Boot Hill, an experiment for the company with wild west-themed roleplaying. And, though a rift would form between Blume and Gygax, that would ultimately lead to a hostile takkeover of TSR, Blume’s role in the company cannot be denied. Blume’s interest in games that challenge the intellect and expand the horizons of people’s understanding helped fuel a lifelong love of playing.
He is survived by his wife, brothers, and many nieces and nephews.
