Tom Moldvay

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Tom Moldvay (1949 – March 9, 2007) was a game designer and author most notable for his work on early materials for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). As an employee of TSR, Inc., Moldvay authored or co-authored landmark D&D adventure modules such as Castle Amber, Isle of Dread, Palace of the Silver Princess, and Secret of the Slavers Stockade, all published in 1981. Of these, X1 - Isle of Dread was one of the most widely played modules of the time because it was distributed inside the D&D Expert Set rules.

Also in 1981, Moldvay edited the first major revision of the rulebooks in the D&D Basic Set since its original publication. Other Moldvay adventure modules for D&D include The Lost City (1982) and Twilight Calling (1986). In the years between 1980 and 1988, he also penned several articles in Dragon magazine.

Moldvay also co-developed TSR's Gangbusters role-playing game, wrote adventures for TSR's Star Frontiers game, and developed materials for Lords of Creation, a game published by Avalon Hill. He also created a stand alone, one-shot game "The Future King" based on Arthurian legend.

During the 1970's while a student at Kent State University in Ohio, Moldvay was a writer for the legendary science fiction fanzine Infinite Dreams.

Tom Moldvay died at the age of 58 on March 9, 2007. (Source: Coroner's Office, Summit County, Ohio)