Bruce Cordell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bruce Robert Cordell (born 1968) is an American author of roleplaying games and fantasy novels. He is the winner of the Origins Award as well as several ENnies. He lives in Seattle with his wife and household of pets.

Contents

[edit] Biographical timeline

[edit] Roleplaying Work

Bruce Cordell's RPG work includes many scenarios and sourcebooks; many of which are directly or indirectly concerned with monsters of a Lovecraftian bent (particularly mind flayers and psionics.

Cordell frequently references certain characters, ideas, and organizations repeatedly in his RPG works, creating a personal continuity between various supplements. For example, The Illithiad references the character of Strom Wakeman and the organization known as the Arcane Order. Wakeman was quoted occasionally in Planescape books by Cordell, such as A Guide to the Ethereal Plane, and was instrumental to the course of events in the adventure Dawn of the Overmind (books which were themselves also connected through a phenomenon called an ether gap). Meanwhile, the Arcane Order returned in Tome and Blood as a detailed organization and the basis of a prestige class.

Most of Cordell's work for Malhavoc Press has followed similar patterns, creating a sort of story arc across When the Sky Falls, If Thoughts Could Kill, and Hyperconscious, connected by the god-like Dark Plea and, to a lesser extent, the kureshim race. In an interview with Monte Cook, Cordell himself described his style as including "subtle story threads that connect seemingly unrelated projects".[1]

[edit] Adventures

[edit] 2nd Edition AD&D

  • Gates of Firestorm Peak (1996)
  • Evil Tide (1997)
  • Night of the Shark (1997)
  • Sea of Blood (1998)
  • Return to the Tomb of Horrors (1998)
  • A Darkness Gathering (1998)
  • Masters of Eternal Night (1998)
  • Dawn of the Overmind (1998)
  • Return to White Plume Mountain (1999)
  • Die Vecna Die! (with Steve Miller, 2000)
  • Reverse Dungeon (with John D. Rateliff, 2000)

[edit] 3rd Edition D&D

  • The Sunless Citadel (2000)
  • Heart of Nightfang Spire (2001)
  • Bastion of Broken Souls (2002)

[edit] Sourcebooks

[edit] 2nd Edition AD&D

  • College of Wizardry (1998)
  • Dungeon Builder's Guidebook (1998)
  • Bastion of Faith (1999)
  • The Illithiad (1998)

[edit] 3rd Edition D&D

Third-Party d20 System Sourcebooks

  • If Thoughts Could Kill (Malhavoc Press, 2002)
  • Hyperconscious (Malhavoc Press, 2004)

Bruce has written nearly 40 game products: a list of which can be found externally here: Amazon list of credits

[edit] Novels

Darkvision (Forgotten Realms Novel, #3 in series The Wizards), 2006

Lady of Poison (Forgotten Realms Novel, #1 in series The Priests), 2005

Oath of Nerull (Writing as T. H. Lain), 2004

"Not all that Tempts", Dragon's Return, Malhavoc Press, 2005

"Hollows of the Heart", Children of the Rune, Malhavoc Press, 2004

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Talk With Bruce R. Cordell, http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?int_dnd30_BRC

[edit] External links