| David A. Trampier | |
|---|---|
.jpg) David A. Trampier fromThe Daily Egyptian, 2002 | |
| Born | April 22, 1954[citation needed] Saint Louis,Missouri, United States |
| Died | March 24, 2014 (aged 59) Carbondale,Illinois, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Pseudonym(s) | Tramp, DAT |
Notable works | Wormy AD&D Players Handbook Monster Manual Titan |
David A. Trampier (April 22, 1954 – March 24, 2014) was an artist and writer whose artwork forTSR, Inc. illustrated some of the earliest editions of theDungeons & Dragonsrole-playing game.[1] Many of his illustrations, such as the cover of the originalPlayers Handbook, became iconic. Trampier was also the creator of theWormycomic strip that ran inDragon magazine for several years.
At the height of his career in the late 1980s, Trampier suddenly withdrew from the gaming world and became a socialrecluse. Although the reasons for this break were unclear, a disagreement with TSR is possible; it is clear that later in life, Trampier wanted nothing to do with TSR or its successor,Wizards of the Coast. For many years, Trampier's location was unknown to anyone and rumors circulated that he had died; his brother-in-lawTom Wham denied this, although Wham admitted that even he did not know where Trampier was or what he was doing.
Trampier was inducted into the AAGAD (tabletop gaming) Hall of Fame posthumously in 2024 as part of the 50th anniversary of the HOF.[2]
In 1977,TSR, Inc. started to develop a new version of their popularDungeons & Dragons role-playing game calledAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D). Unlike TSR's previous rulebooks, which had been low-quality paperback booklets, the rulebooks for AD&D would be high-qualitylithographed hard covers featuring full color wrap-around cover art and many interior black & white illustrations. The first book to be published was theMonster Manual in 1977, and Trampier, along with fellow artistsDavid Sutherland andTom Wham, provided artwork for the manual.[3]Tim Kask, editor ofDragon magazine, stated in a review that the book's profuse illustrations were "outstanding", and that the illustrations "in themselves would warrant the cover price".[4]
It was the next hardcover rulebook, thePlayer's Handbook, that would secure Trampier his reputation while he was still in his mid-twenties. Trampier's cover depicted a temple dominated by a huge, devilish statue, being looted by a group of adventurers; the back cover included a representation of the book's author,Gary Gygax.[5] The cover image became synonymous with the game until the cover art was replaced with a new illustration in 1982. Trampier also created several pieces of interior art for thePlayer's Handbook.
He continued to be an important contributor to the TSR brand in the company's early years.[6] Some of his more notable works included:
The September 1977 issue ofDragon (Issue #9) featured a new 6-panel comic, Trampier'sWormy. The first frame featured the title character, acigar-chomping,pool hustling,wargamingdragon, and subsequent issues revealed the cast of trolls and ogres who were his neighbors and friends. The stories were told from the point of view of the antagonists of theDungeons & Dragons game; thewizards,warriors and other protagonists that players would be expected to portray were inevitably presented as unwelcome intruders.Wormy continued to appear inDragon for the next 10 years, until Issue #132 (April 1988).
In 1980, Trampier and Jason McAllister co-designed a "monster slugathon" wargame calledTitan, for which Trampier also executed the artwork. The purpose of the game was simply to defeat other players' armies, using the victories to advance in power until there was only one army left. Trampier and McAllister self-published the game through Gorgonstar Company. It was re-published byAvalon Hill in 1982 and gained a measure of popularity. Articles aboutTitan were featured in several issues of Avalon Hill'sGeneral magazine, and it remained in print until Avalon Hill's demise in 1998. In 2008, Valley Games printed a new edition ofTitan without Trampier's artwork.
In the late 1980s, David Trampier suddenly disappeared. The last installment ofWormy appeared in the April 1988 issue ofDragon (#132); despite the fact that the comic was in the middle of an unfinished storyline, no furtherWormy comics were ever published.[8] In the August 1988 issue ofDragon (issue #136), in response to a reader letter, theDragon editors wrote, "We regret to announce that 'Wormy' will no longer be appearing inDragon Magazine. We are looking into the possibility of adding another graphic series in the future."
Kim Mohan, then editor ofDragon, toldPhil Foglio that payments forWormy and other royalty payments sent to Trampier had been returned unopened. Foglio explained that "When an artist's checks are returned uncashed, he is presumed dead."[9]
Trampier was rediscovered by coincidence, working as a taxi driver. In February 2002, Arin Thompson did a night-shiftride along inCarbondale, Illinois with a local Yellow Taxi driver for an article forSouthern Illinois University's student newspaper. Thetaxi driver was David Trampier, who told Thompson he had moved to Carbondale from Chicago about eight months previously. Thompson, who did not know of Trampier's work as an artist, published the story and Trampier's photograph inThe Daily Egyptian on February 15, 2002.[10]
Word circulated that Trampier was still alive; several companies and individuals contacted him to inquire about commissioning new artwork, republishing old artwork, or appearing at conventions. Trampier rebuffed all attempts to draw him back into the fantasy gaming world and continued to drive his taxi.[11] One of the people who reached out to him was fellow cartoonistJolly Blackburn, who simply wanted to talk to him about aWormy compilation that had been done a few years prior. Blackburn reported that "He politely asked me not to call him again and to lose his number. Apparently a lot of people tracked him down through the same article and he was fed up with all the phone calls. Seemed like a nice guy. He just wants nothing to do with the strip or the gaming industry."[12]
In 2003,Wizards of the Coast stated that Trampier was "alive and well" but "not currently working in gaming or comics".[13] In 2004, Trampier's fellow artist and brother-in-law Tom Wham stated that he believed Trampier "still exists somewhere in Illinois".[14]
In 2008, Trampier visited Castle Perilous Games & Books, a game store in Carbondale, to see the new edition ofTitan that had been published by Valley Games. That was the only contact he made with the games community until several years later.[15]
In late 2013, several misfortunes struck Trampier. He suffered a mild stroke, he lost his job when the Yellow Taxi Company went out of business, and he discovered that he had cancer. Needing money, Trampier contacted Scott Thorne, the owner of Castle Perilous Games & Books, and offered to sell eight of his original pieces of artwork, including the original cover art for the 1979Dungeon Master's Screen. Thorne bought the artwork,[16] and tried to convince Trampier to have his Wormy comics republished. Trampier was suspicious of the offer, and wanted to ensure that TSR would not have any part of the publication; he seemed surprised by the news that TSR had been taken over by Wizards of the Coast almost 20 years previously. Thorne suggested thatTroll Lord Games might be a good publisher to approach.[15]
Trampier accepted an invitation to display some of his original artwork atEgypt Wars, a local games convention; it would be his first public connection to fantasy gaming since his disappearance 25 years before. Representatives of Troll Lord Games were also scheduled to be at the convention, and Thorne hoped Trampier might talk to them about a publishing deal.[15] However, Trampier suddenly died on March 24, 2014, three weeks before the convention.[17]
Rich Burlew (creator ofThe Order of the Stick) has voiced great respect for the placeWormy held as an earlyD&D comic strip, indicating in an interview that he felt awed at his comic being published onDragon's back page, whereWormy once ran, adding that he felt he was "not worthy to shineWormy's feet."[18] In the last issue ofDragon magazine (#359, September 2007), Burlew included in hisOOTS comic a number of references to comics that had appeared in the magazine over its long run, including a Wormy-like dragon (complete with hat and cigar) fleeing beforeWizards of the Coast turned the dungeon electronic.
In 2014, Scott Taylor ofBlack Gate, named Dave Trampier as Honorable Mention in a list of The Top 10 RPG Artists of the Past 40 Years, saying "To me, there was no one in the early TSR art department with half the pure talent of Trampier, apologies to Dee, Willingham, Otus, Darlene, and the late Jim Roslof, but Trampier had a depth that none of the others ever managed."[19] When he died in March of that year, Taylor said that "Trampier, for all his mystery, was the bridge, but now he is gone, and a chasm is forever left behind that no one can again traverse in hopes of finding visual adventures beyond our wildest dreams."[20]
…my good friend and brother-in-law, Dave Trampier (some of you might remember Wormy from the early Dragons). Wormy fans, please note: Dave and I last communicated in 1982, he still exists somewhere in Illinois, I think, but I do not know how to get in touch with him. Sorry.
