Sean K. Reynolds is a Dungeons & Dragons writer who worked for TSR and Wizards of the Coast between 1995 and 2002.
He is sometimes credited as Sean Reynolds, but uses the middle initial K in writing credits to help distinguish his name in product searches.[1]
Life and career[]
Early life[]
Sean K. Reynolds was born circa 1972 in Chula Vista, California.[2]
Reynolds has been a gamer since age 10. He first got into Dungeons & Dragons in the summer after fifth grade, after joining a community college program for gifted children called College for Kids. There he took a class on Dungeons & Dragons, playing a wizard named Golgo. Later, he and his cousin David convinced their parents to buy the Basic and Expert sets. A few months later he switched to AD&D 1st edition. Reynolds never moved on to AD&D 2nd edition, although he did buy the Spelljammer books.[3]
He studied chemistry at a college in Riverside, California, graduating with a bachelor's degree, and joined the teacher credential program. After working in an inner-city school as a long-term substitute teacher of earth science and honors biology,[3] he subsequently went to work for Time Warner Interactive in 1994 as an online coordinator for around one year, developing their website and America Online presence.[4][5][2]
TSR[]
In 1995, aged 23, Reynolds responded to a job posting by TSR's Rob Repp on the fan-operated AD&D mailing list, advertising a position as TSR's online coordinator. Repp had a poor reputation in the online Dungeons & Dragons community due to his enforcement of TSR's restrictive policy on free online fan works, and Reynolds felt he could do a better job. Two weeks later, Repp flew Reynolds to TSR's headquarters for an interview, after which he was offered the job on the spot. Reynolds defeated Bruce Cordell for the job, who TSR would later hire as a designer.[5]
Reynolds was responsible for establishing TSR's website, originally hosted by Interplay, who held the license to Dungeons & Dragons video games and would later be known for the AD&D video game Baldur's Gate. Reynolds helped to shift TSR's policy towards favoring fans, and during his employment TSR never shut down any fan website except those which posted copyrighted material.[5]
During his employment at TSR, Reynold's freelance writing credits included some RPGA adventure modules.
Wizards of the Coast[]
In 1997, TSR declared bankruptcy and was bought out by Wizards of the Coast. In September, Reynolds was one of the TSR employees moved from Wisconsin to Wizards of the Coast's headquarters in Renton, Washington, where he joined the company's web team. After successfully having the company's fan content policy further relaxed in favor of the fans, Reynolds left the TSR website in the hands of the rest of the web team and sought work in the design side, taking odd jobs at the company in the interim while waiting for the design role to open in 1998. [5]
From 1997 until 2000, Wizards of the Coast continued to produce roleplaying game products under the TSR brand. Reynolds worked on several of these, including several Ravenloft sourcebook Children of the Night: Ghosts (1997) and sourcebooks for the Alternity roleplaying game. He worked on several World of Greyhawk adventure modules, writing The Star Cairns (1998) in three weeks to meet a deadline, and Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad (1998) in only one week.[1]
He also served as TSR Online coordinator on AOL[6] and handled email inquiries.[7] Reynolds was interviewed by Stephen Kenson in Dragon #270 (Apr 2000).
Reynolds went on to work on several highly notable Dungeons & Dragons third edition products. His contributions to the Monster Manual (3.0) (2000) included the krenshar, a fear-inducing creature created in part to allow the fear-immune paladin class to shine. He also worked on most of the core humanoid species.[2]
Following his work on several World of Greyhawk AD&D sourcebooks from 1999 to 2000, Reynolds worked on the setting's first D&D third edition sourcebook, the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000). He was also involved in the design of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3e) (2001), and wrote several sourcebooks in that setting.
In spring 2001, Wizards of the Coast offered Sean Reynolds and Monte Cook the rare opportunity to work on an "R&D choice" product, meaning that they could select the topic freely. The two worked on Ghostwalk (2003) campaign setting, which was released shortly before the D&D 3.5 revision.[3]
On March 14, 2002, Reynolds was one of several employees laid off by Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons division. He considered this layoff amiable, as he had been planning to leave the company move back to southern California. He performed some unpaid work for Wizards of the Coast in the following year.[4][8]
Subsequent work[]
After leaving Wizards of the Coast, Reynolds joined Black Isle Studies, a division of Interplay. There he worked on several canceled video game RPG projects, including Baldur's Gate 3, Fallout 3, and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 3, and an action RPG based on Exalted.[4] In June 2004, Reynolds left Interplay after they illegally switched employees from salary to hourly without permission. Reynolds left and started his own company, Sean K Reynolds Games.[9]
He wrote various freelance works, including Anger of Angels (2004) published by Malhavoc Press, and the charity work Swords into Plowshares.[10]
Reynolds was subsequently hired by Upper Deck, working on licensed card games for Kiba, Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and World of Warcraft. He variously worked for the company as an employee in California and as a contractor in New York City and Last Vegas. He was laid off in May 2008 after the company made lower profits than expected, despite making quarterly profits of $50 million. Reynolds subsequently criticized the company for counterfeiting their own Yu-Gi-Oh! cards to avoid paying royalties, in a case settled in a 2010 lawsuit.[4]
He also worked as a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, including on Forgotten Realms sourcebooks such as Champions of Valor (2005) and Mysteries of the Moonsea (2006).
Reynolds moved to Seattle and went to work with Paizo on their Pathfinder roleplaing game and adventure module series. In August 2015, he released the Five Moons roleplaying game. He did not write any content for Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition, although he was thanked for his work on the third edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting in the credits of several fourth edition Forgotten Realms works.
Following the release of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition in 2014, Reynolds contributed to Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks, including the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (2015) and Volo's Guide to Monsters (2016).
Bibliography[]
Books[]
- Savage Coast Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1996): Special thanks
- Savage Coast Campaign Book (1996): Playtesting and review
- Orc's Head (1996): Special thanks
- The Gates of Firestorm Peak (1996): Playtesting
- Children of the Night: Ghosts (1997): Writing (Wilhelm Pellman)
- The Star Cairns (1998): Design
- Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad (1998): Design
- The Shadow Rift (1998): Playtesting
- The Doomgrinder (1998): Special thanks
- A Darkness Gathering (1998): Playtesting
- The Scarlet Brotherhood (1999): Design
- TSR Jam 1999 (1999): Design, likeness of Mordenkainen
- Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff (1999): New material
- Slavers (2000): Design
- Cloak & Dagger (2000): Writing
- Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000): Design
- Dungeon Master's Guide (3.0) (2000): R&D contributor
- Monster Manual (3.0) (2000): Additional design
- Manual of the Planes (3e) (2001): Additional design
- Fang, Beak and Claw (2001): Writing
- Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (2001): Playtesting
- Book of Vile Darkness (3e) (2002): Playtesting, addiction rules
- Black Rain (2002): Playtesting
- Stronghold Builder's Guidebook (2002): Web enhancement cartography
- Into the Dragon's Lair (2000): Writing
- Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor (2000): Writing
- Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3e) (2001)
- Magic of Faerûn (2001)
- Lords of Darkness (3e) (2001): Design
- Faiths and Pantheons (2002): Web enhancement
- Silver Marches (2002): Web enhancement
- Unapproachable East (2003)
- Monster Manual II (3e) (2002): Playtesting
- Savage Species (2003): Additional design
- Races of Faerûn (2003): Additional design
- Fiend Folio (3e) (2003): Additional design
- Ghostwalk (2003): Writing, web enhancement, D&D 3.5 update
- Serpent Kingdoms (2004): Special thanks, web enhancement
- Libris Mortis (2004): Web enhancement (Tarus' Banquet)
- City of Splendors: Waterdeep (2005): Additional design
- Champions of Valor (2005): Design
- Mysteries of the Moonsea (2006)
- Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (2015): Design
- Out of the Abyss (2015): Additional proofreading
- Volo's Guide to Monsters (2016): Design
- Storm King's Thunder (2016): Editorial assistance
Articles[]
- Birthright: Müden (1997): Web conversion
- Strange Bedfellows, Polyhedron #130 (Jun 1998), p.18
- Forgotten Realms 2000 Survival Guide, Dragon Annual 2000 (1998), p.102
- Enchiridion of the Fiend-Sage, Living Greyhawk Journal #2 (2000)
- The Blood of Heroes, Living Greyhawk Journal #3 (2001)
- Enchiridion of the Fiend-Sage, Living Greyhawk Journal #4 (2001)
- Enchiridion of the Fiend-Sage, Living Greyhawk Journal #5 (2001)
- How To Design a Feat, Dragon #275 (Sep 2000), p.38
- A Dwarven Lexicon, Dragon #278 (Dec 2000), p.44
- An Elven Lexiconn, Dragon #279 (Jan 2001), p.56
- Blood Golems of Hextor, Dragon #292 (Feb 2002), p.96
- Lords of the Lost Vale, Dragon #292 (Feb 2002), p.36
- The Elemental Planetouched, Dragon #293 (Mar 2002), p.56
- Monstrous Denizens of Oerth, Dragon #295 (May 2002), p.92
- War Spells: Unleash Arcane Armageddon, Dragon #309 (Jul 2003), p.44
- The Bloody Swords, Dragon #315 (Jan 2004), p.56
- Lost Temple of Demogorgon, Dungeon #120 (Mar 2005), p.64
- Encounter at Blackwall Keep, Dungeon #126 (Sep 2005), p.16
- Core Beliefs: Boccob, Dragon #338 (Dec 2005), p.38
- Creature Catalog IV, Dragon #339 (Jan 2006), p.44
- Core Beliefs: Olidammara, Dragon #342 (Apr 2006), p.32
- Core Beliefs: Pelor, Dragon #346 (Aug 2006), p.20
- Core Beliefs: Vecna, Dragon #348 (Oct 2006), p.18
- Core Beliefs: Wee Jas, Dragon #350 (Dec 2006), p.18
- Core Beliefs: Heironeous, Dragon #354 (Apr 2007), p.18
- Core Beliefs: Hextor, Dragon #356 (Jun 2007), p.36
- Core Beliefs: Saint Cuthbert, Dragon #358 (Aug 2007), p.24
RPGA modules[]
- Dragonscales at Morningtide (2000)[11]
Other works[]
- Legacy of the Dragon, Dragon #264 (Oct 1999), p.92 (Alternity)
- Beyond Science: A Guide to FX (Alternity, 1999)
- FX Artifacts, Dragon #268 (Feb 2000), p.98 (Alternity)
- Hungry Little Monsters
- Swords into Plowshares
- Age of Mortals (Sovereign Press, 2003): Additional design
- Anger of Angels (Malhavoc Press, 2004)
- Skreyn's Register: The Bonds of Magic (Malhavoc Press, 2004)
Reception and influence[]
Monte Cook described Reynolds positively:[3]
- "Although an opinionated guy, he's not close-minded, which isn't a combination you come upon very often. He's also diligent and dedicated. Most of all, though, I just like Sean. He's funny, extremely friendly, and very generous. And he doesn't mind the occasional good-natured ribbing about his idiosyncrasies."
External links[]
- SeanKReynolds.com
- Bibliography at SeanKReynolds.com
- @SeanKReynolds on Twitter
- Five Moons RPG
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gabbin at Lord Peak's Haven #117, Nov 8, 2020. LordGosumba, Twitch.tv.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Profiles: Sean Reynolds, Dragon #270 (Apr 2000), p.20-21.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 A Talk With Sean K Reynolds. MonteCook.com. Archived on Oct 31, 2007.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 About Sean. SeanKReynolds.com.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 How I Got A Job At TSR. SeanKReynolds.com, Jan 30, 2004.
- ↑ Dragon #235 (Nov 1996), p.7.
- ↑ Dragon #253 (Nov 1998), p.115.
- ↑ One Year Later. SeanKReynolds.com, Mar 14, 2003.
- ↑ One Year Later, Part 3. SeanKReynolds.com, Mar 28, 2005.
- ↑ One Year Later, Part 2. SeanKReynolds.com, Mar 15, 2004.
- ↑ Living Greyhawk Journal #0