In Memoriam

David A. Hargrave
(May 25, 1946 - August 29, 1988)
Aged 42 Years

In Memoriam

I held it truth, with him who sings
To one clear harp in divers tones,
That men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things.

But who shall so forecast the years
And find in loss a gain to match?
Or reach a hand thro’ time to catch
The far-off interest of tears?

Let Love clasp Grief lest both be drown’d,
Let darkness keep her raven gloss:
Ah, sweeter to be drunk with loss,
To dance with death, to beat the ground,

Than that the victor Hours should scorn
The long result of love, and boast,
‘Behold the man that loved and lost,
But all he was is overworn.’

- Alfred Lord Tennyson

Dave Hargrave, known as The Dream Weaver, was a prolific and sometimes controversial game designer and writer of fantasy and science fiction role-playing games. He was also an Army combat veteran of the Vietnam War with a six-year tour of duty (in country). Hargrave's most notable written works were based upon his own mythical world of Arduin.

From the mid-1970s through 1988 David A. Hargrave was very active in the role-playing community. He authored ten books based upon this Arduin game world. Hargrave also produced four Arduin Dungeon Modules and several fantasy item collections, which were published by Grimoire Games.

Hargrave's work was perhaps the first "cross-genre" venture into fantasy RPG, and it included everything from interstellar wars to horror and historical drama. His work was, however, based principally upon the traditional (and not so traditional) medieval fantasy genre.

Arduin was one of the setting and supplement series for TSR's Dungeons and Dragons, and a leading representative of the high-entropy, multiversal campaigns then prevalent in RPG circles. While Hargrave was considered one of the best of the best of Game Masters, he was also known for having a somewhat volatile personality. The original Role-playing community at large was split between love and mere tolerance of Hargrave's passions (his falling-out with Greg Stafford, which resulted in Hargrave naming a spell after him as revenge, is one such example).

Hargrave also frequently contributed to various magazines such as Different Worlds, Alarums and Excursions, and Abyss. As a game designer, he authored various Call of Cthulhu adventures for Chaosium, Inc., and was an integral part of the design team for the sci-fi game Star Rovers, among others.

Published works

• The Arduin Grimoire (Arduin Grimoire Volume 1)

• Welcome to Skull Tower (Arduin Grimoire Volume 2)

• The Runes of Doom (Arduin Grimoire Volume 3)

• The Lost Grimoire (Arduin Grimoire Volume 4)

• Dark Dreams (Arduin Grimoire Volume 5)

• The House of the Rising Sun (Arduin Grimoire Volume 6)

• Shadow Lands (Arduin Grimoire Volume 7)

• The Winds of Chance (Arduin Grimoire Volume 8)

• The Arduin Adventure

  • Arduin Dungeon No. 1: Caliban

  • Arduin Dungeon No. 2: The Howling Tower

  • Arduin Dungeon No. 3: The Citadel of Thunder

  • Arduin Dungeon No. 4: Death Heart

• The Arduin Primer

  • Complete Arduin Book 1 The Rules

  • Complete Arduin Book 2 Resources

  • The Arduin Map

  • Vaults of the 'Weaver

  • The Black Grimoire

A partial list of publications containing David A. Hargrave's work

• End War (Arduin Grimoire Volume 9)

• World of Khaas the Legendary Lands of Arduin

• Black Devil Mountain (found in The Asylum and Other Tales from Chaosium)

• Dark Carnival (found in Curse of the Cthonians from Chaosium)

• Arduin Bloody Arduin (found in Different Worlds magazine issue #2)

• All the Worlds Monsters Volumes 1, 2 and 3 (from Chaosium).

• Star Rovers Module 1 (Sci-Fi RPG from Archive Miniatures and Game Systems, 1981)
   

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