RIP David Trampier

[Amentep]

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/03/28/iconic-dd-artist-david-a-trampier-1954-2014/

 

Bleeding Cool is reporting AD&D and Wormy artist David Trampier has passed away.

 

A lot of the "cool" factor to me on the old AD&D 1st edition was the cool art, and Trampier's art was always distinctive - as was his work for Dungeon magazine.

[C2B]

[Nonek]

Whatever happened to Wormy, just seemed to disappear? Mind you Dungeon itself disappeared from England's Newsagents a few years later.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Nonek

[Amentep]

These links might contain about as much as is known

 

http://skylandgames.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/the-strange-case-of-dave-a-trampier/

 

http://thecastlesramparts.blogspot.com/2014/03/dave-trampier-wormy-artist-passes-away.html

 

As near as I've ever been able to tell, Trampier had some issue with TSR and stopped cashing their checks, which is typically a sign someone is dead so they stopped running the strips unable to actually buy them. What his issue with TSR was, though, I don't think is known.

[nikolokolus]

I think it went beyond just TSR. I wish I could remember which RPG blog I read that had the details, but apparently DAT just turned his back on the whole industry and all of the people he knew from before and wanted to be left alone.

 

Last I heard is that he was actually reaching out to some folk from the RPG community and had planned to attend some small convention before he fell ill and then passed.

 

In any case, I'll drink a cold one in his honor. His illustrations in 1st ed. AD&D were some of the most evocative and inspriational art I'd ever seen when I was just a fresh faced twelve year old picking up those books in the late 80s. Between he, Jeff Dee, Jeff Easley, Erol Otus and Frank Frazetta they made me want to be an artist and hone my own craft.

 

Sláinte!

[IndiraLightfoot]

This is sad news! And what a sad story too. His pictures are like yesterday to me. I literally watched them for hours in total as a teenager, dreaming away. I really liked his Magic Mouth-depiction in that stairwell, and that evil (?) wand-shooting wizard riding roughshod through a city street. Thank you for those dreams, mr Trampier!

Edited March 29, 2014 by IndiraLightfoot

[nikolokolus]

This is sad news! And what a sad story too. His pictures are like yesterday to me. I literally watched them for hours in total as a teenager, dreaming away. I really liked his Magic Mouth-depiction in that stairwell, and that evil (?) wand-shooting wizard riding roughshod through a city street. Thank you for those dreams, mr Trampier!

 

That picture was  D&D for me. It absolutely encapsulated everything that I wanted the game to be: a party of rough and tumble treasure seekers (not necessarily heroes) exploring some weird, lightless underworld, filled with magic and danger.

[IndiraLightfoot]

I just flipped though my old D&D books, and also browsed Dave Trampier's images online, and I realize what kind of legacy he's left us. I love thousands of his pictures, I just do. It's part of what made me interested in RPGs in the first place. In honour of his art and his accomplishments, I have solemnly changed my avatar to one lovely and wise Rakshasa of his.

 

I bid thee farewell, mr Trampier!

Edited March 29, 2014 by IndiraLightfoot