Kenzer & Company
Encyclopedia
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan
(Illinois
, USA) based publisher of comic books, role-playing game
s, board game
s, card game
s, and miniature game
s.
They are known for the Kingdoms of Kalamar
campaign setting and for their own HackMaster
and Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier
role-playing games (RPGs). Perhaps their best known product is the Knights of the Dinner Table
(KoDT) magazine, which is a monthly publication that is part comic book and part RPG magazine. KenzerCo's line of comics now includes spinoffs such as Knights of the Dinner Table Illustrated
and Spacehack, licensed comics in the Dungeons & Dragons line, and the fantasy literature magazine Black Gate. Other products include the Fairy Meat
miniatures game, the Fuzzy Knights
web strips, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail
card game and board games such as Dwarven Dig, Elemental, and The Great Space Race.
, a fantasy
campaign setting
compatible with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. This source book was a completely unlicensed product, and although TSR
(the then-owner of the Dungeons & Dragons trademark) had a precedent of threatening legal action against similar supplements, Kenzer & Company was never threatened.
With the launch of Dungeons & Dragons’s 3rd Edition
, Wizards of the Coast made the d20 System
available under the Open Game License (OGL) and d20 Trademark License. Under these licenses, authors are free to use the d20 System when writing games and game supplements. Shortly after Wizards of the Coast announced the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, they announced jointly with Kenzer & Company that Kenzer had acquired a license to produce official Dungeons & Dragons
material, using the Kalamar setting exclusively.
With the release of the fourth edition, Wizards of the Coast has introduced its Game System License
, which represents a significant restriction compared with the very open policies embodied by the OGL. In response, Kenzer & Company launched an updated version of Kingdoms of Kalamar compatible with the 4th Edition version of Dungeons & Dragons which does not conform to the new Game System License
for approved use, instead releasing the campaign setting as an unlicensed supplement, similar to the original publication. The Dungeons & Dragons trademark
is used in accordance with US law under a concept called Nominative use
- the book merely says that it is for use with the new version. David Kenzer is named as an expert in copyright law.
Waukegan, Illinois
Waukegan is a city and county seat of Lake County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 87,901. The 2010 population was 89,078. It is the ninth-largest city in Illinois by population...
(Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, USA) based publisher of comic books, role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s, board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s, card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
s, and miniature game
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
s.
They are known for the Kingdoms of Kalamar
Kingdoms of Kalamar
The Kingdoms of Kalamar is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting created by Kenzer and Company and released in 1994. Shortly after Wizards of the Coast announced the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, they announced jointly with Kenzer & Company that Kenzer had acquired a license to produce...
campaign setting and for their own HackMaster
HackMaster
HackMaster is a role-playing game produced by Kenzer & Company, being a revised expansion of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It started out as a fictional game, a parody of the most ludicrous aspects of D&D played by the characters of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic strip by Jolly R. Blackburn...
and Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier
Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier
Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier is an American award-winning role-playing game, written by Jolly R. Blackburn, Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, Dave Kenzer, Jennifer Kenzer and Mark Plemmons, and published by Kenzer & Company in 2007...
role-playing games (RPGs). Perhaps their best known product is the Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table is a comic book/strip created by Jolly R. Blackburn and published by Kenzer & Company. It primarily focuses on a group of role playing gamers and their actions at the gaming table, which often result in unfortunate, but humorous consequences in the game...
(KoDT) magazine, which is a monthly publication that is part comic book and part RPG magazine. KenzerCo's line of comics now includes spinoffs such as Knights of the Dinner Table Illustrated
Knights of the Dinner Table Illustrated
Knights of the Dinner Table Illustrated is a comic book created by Jolly R. Blackburn and is published by Kenzer & Company. It portrays many of the same stories as Knights of the Dinner Table but from the point of view of the player characters themselves.The first monthly issue was published in...
and Spacehack, licensed comics in the Dungeons & Dragons line, and the fantasy literature magazine Black Gate. Other products include the Fairy Meat
Fairy Meat
Fairy Meat is a warband-based tabletop game first published by Kenzer & Company in 2000, written and designed by Scott Leaton and illustrated by Manny Vega. The game revolves around the battles of a pack of vicious, cannibal fairies...
miniatures game, the Fuzzy Knights
Fuzzy Knights
Fuzzy Knights was an online comic created by Noah J.D. Chinn and published by Kenzer & Company. It starred stuffed animals who enjoy role-playing games such as HackMaster and Dungeons & Dragons. What started out as a simple one-shot tribute to the Kenzer gamer comic series, Knights of the Dinner...
web strips, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
card game and board games such as Dwarven Dig, Elemental, and The Great Space Race.
Notable employees
- Barbara Blackburn - Assistant Editor of KoDT and staff writer
- Jolly R. Blackburn - Vice-President and creator of Knights of the Dinner TableKnights of the Dinner TableKnights of the Dinner Table is a comic book/strip created by Jolly R. Blackburn and published by Kenzer & Company. It primarily focuses on a group of role playing gamers and their actions at the gaming table, which often result in unfortunate, but humorous consequences in the game...
- Brian Jelke - Vice-President and game designer
- Steve Johansson - Vice-President and game designer
- David Kenzer - President and game designer
- Jennifer Kenzer - CFO
- Mark Plemmons - Game designer, senior editor, art director, convention manager, HackMaster Association manager
Notable volunteers
- Topher Kersting - former Keeper of the Errata (for HackMasterHackMasterHackMaster is a role-playing game produced by Kenzer & Company, being a revised expansion of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It started out as a fictional game, a parody of the most ludicrous aspects of D&D played by the characters of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic strip by Jolly R. Blackburn...
), former HMA Tournament Manager, author of GenCon 2006 Wurld Championship tournament module - Joe Reimers - GAMA liaison for the HMA, co-author of GenCon 2005 Wurld Championship tournament module
- Beverly Shideler - Knights of the Dinner Table Advertising Representative, 'KoDT' typo-slayer; website & graphic design (Aces & Eights, Kenzerco.com), website administrator
- D.M. Zwerg - former HMA Manager, frequent HackJournal contributor
Unlicensed supplements and trademark issues
In 1994, Kenzer & Company released Kingdoms of KalamarKingdoms of Kalamar
The Kingdoms of Kalamar is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting created by Kenzer and Company and released in 1994. Shortly after Wizards of the Coast announced the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, they announced jointly with Kenzer & Company that Kenzer had acquired a license to produce...
, a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
compatible with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. This source book was a completely unlicensed product, and although TSR
TSR
The Three-letter abbreviation TSR has a variety of meanings, depending on context:-Science and technology:* Terminate and Stay Resident, utility programs used in MS-DOS* Thermo Sulfate Reduction, relevant to the Kraft process...
(the then-owner of the Dungeons & Dragons trademark) had a precedent of threatening legal action against similar supplements, Kenzer & Company was never threatened.
With the launch of Dungeons & Dragons’s 3rd Edition
Editions of Dungeons & Dragons
Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of Dungeons & Dragons , Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game...
, Wizards of the Coast made the d20 System
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
available under the Open Game License (OGL) and d20 Trademark License. Under these licenses, authors are free to use the d20 System when writing games and game supplements. Shortly after Wizards of the Coast announced the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, they announced jointly with Kenzer & Company that Kenzer had acquired a license to produce official Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
material, using the Kalamar setting exclusively.
With the release of the fourth edition, Wizards of the Coast has introduced its Game System License
Game System License
The 4th edition Game System License was released to the public on June 17, 2008. This license is similar to, but more restrictive than, the Open Game License that was created for 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
, which represents a significant restriction compared with the very open policies embodied by the OGL. In response, Kenzer & Company launched an updated version of Kingdoms of Kalamar compatible with the 4th Edition version of Dungeons & Dragons which does not conform to the new Game System License
Game System License
The 4th edition Game System License was released to the public on June 17, 2008. This license is similar to, but more restrictive than, the Open Game License that was created for 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
for approved use, instead releasing the campaign setting as an unlicensed supplement, similar to the original publication. The Dungeons & Dragons trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
is used in accordance with US law under a concept called Nominative use
Nominative use
Nominative use, also "nominative fair use", is a legal doctrine that provides an affirmative defense to trademark infringement as enunciated by the United States Ninth Circuit, by which a person may use the trademark of another as a reference to describe the other product, or to compare it to their...
- the book merely says that it is for use with the new version. David Kenzer is named as an expert in copyright law.