Robert J. Schwalb is a writer in the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

industry, and has worked as a game designer and developer for such games as ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'', '' A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying'', ''

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay ''Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay'' or ''Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play'' (abbreviated to ''WFRP'' or ''WHFRP'') is a role-playing game set in the ''Warhammer Fantasy (setting), Warhammer Fantasy'' setting, published by Games Workshop or its licensee ...

'', '' Shadow of the Demon Lord'', and many other RPG supplements.

Career

Robert J. Schwalb has worked for ''

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...

''. His works produced for the ''

'' game include: '' Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells'' (2006, with

Robin Laws Robin D. Laws (born October 14, 1964 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian writer and game designer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of a number of novels and role-playing games as well as an anthologist. Career Robin D. Laws ...

), ''

Drow of the Underdark ''Drow of the Underdark'' is the name of two supplemental rules books for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, providing supplementary game rules focusing on Drow (Dungeons & Dragons), drow culture, equipment and folklore for bo ...

'' (2007, with

Ari Marmell Ari Marmell is an American novelist and freelance role-playing game writer. Novels His first novel, ''Gehenna: The Final Night'', was published in 2004 by White Wolf Publishing. ''Agents of Artifice,'' a media tie-in novel set in the Magic: The ...

Anthony Pryor Anthony Pryor is the author and co-author of several roleplaying game products. Career Anthony Pryor has worked as a game designer for Wizards of the Coast, Inc. His professional RPG credits include the 1992 Greyhawk setting modules '' Patriots ...

, and

Greg A. Vaughan Greg A. Vaughan is an American writer who creates material for role-playing game, roleplaying games. Works Greg A. Vaughan's role-playing credits for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game include ''Drow of the Underdark'', ''Scepter Tower o ...

), ''

Elder Evils ''Elder Evils'' is an official supplement for the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons v3.5, 3.5 edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. This book presents alien, monstrous evils and is designed as a way of providi ...

'' (2007), ''

Exemplars of Evil ''Exemplars of Evil'' is a supplement to the 3.5 edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game written by Robert J. Schwalb. Contents ''Exemplars of Evil'' is an accessory that shows how to build memorable villains for ''Dungeons & D ...

'' (2007), ''

Tome of Magic ''Tome of Magic'' (abbreviated ToM) is a handbook of rules and guidelines for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. As its name implies, it is a supplement to be used to expand the magical options available in the game. It was first releas ...

'' (2006, with

Matthew Sernett Matthew Lee Sernett is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Matt Sernett was part of the SCRAMJET team, led by Richard Baker, with designers James Wyatt, Ed Stark, Michele Carter, Stacy Longstreet, and Chris ...

, Dave Noonan, and Ari Marmell), ''

Player's Handbook II ''Player's Handbook II'' is the title of a third edition ''Dungeons & Dragons'' supplement. It is a handbook of rules and guidelines for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. As the name implies, the book is a supplement to the edition's ...

'' (2006). He has also worked for

Green Ronin Publishing Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games includi ...

on ''

'', and made contributions to '' Witch Hunter: The Invisible World'' for

Paradigm Concepts Paradigm Concepts, Inc. is a small-press game publishing company located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They published the award-winning Arcanis campaign setting and managed the Living Arcanis campaign independent of the RPGA. Previously Arcan ...

(2007). Schwalb worked for years as a developer and staff member at Green Ronin. Schwalb, Patrick O'Duffy and

Chris Pramas Chris Pramas is an American game designer and writer, as well as a founder of Green Ronin Publishing. He is best known as the designer of the ''Dragon Age'' RPG, ''Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay'' (second edition), and ''Freeport: The City of Adventu ...

wrote ''The Pirate's Guide to Freeport'' (2007), a 256-page sourcebook about the city of Freeport, published by Green Ronin. Schwalb designed the game '' A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying'', which was previewed at

Free RPG Day Free RPG Day is an annual promotional event by the tabletop role-playing game industry. The event rules are fairly simple: participating publishers provide special free copies of games to participating game stores; the game store agrees to provide ...

in 2008 and published in 2009; this was the final project by Schwalb for Green Ronin before he before he went to work for

. His additional role-playing work includes work for Black Industries, Fantasy Flight Games, and several other companies. Schwalb worked as the writer beginning in 2008 on the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" column as part of the online version of ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'', beginning with articles for the demon characters

Yeenoghu This is a list of deities of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', including all of the 3.5 edition gods and powers of the "Core Setting" for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') roleplaying game. Religion is a key element of the D&D game, since it is require ...

and

Baphomet Baphomet is a figure incorporated across various occult and Western esotericism, Western esoteric traditions. During Trials of the Knights Templar, trials starting in 1307, the Knights Templar were accused of heresy for worshipping Baphomet as ...

. Schwalb also co-wrote ''Divine Power'', a 4th Edition ''D&D'' supplement, which made the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' Best-Seller list for July 2009. In 2012, Schwalb became one of the lead designers for the fifth edition of ''

''. He also wrote for

Monte Cook Monte Cook (born January 29, 1968) is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Role-playing industry career Early years Cook has been a professional game d ...

Games' Numenera line, including the ''Numenera Character Options'' book and the adventure ''Beyond All Worlds''. In 2014, after completing his work on the fifth edition, Schwalb launched Schwalb Entertainment and began writing a new RPG entitled '' Shadow of the Demon Lord''. In 2018, Schwalb contributed to the new Judge Dredd role-playing game, ''Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD'', by

EN World EN World, also known as Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG News, is a British-owned tabletop role-playing game news and reviews website. The website is run and owned by Russ Morrissey ("Morrus"). It reports current news and provides insight into ma ...

's EN Publishing. In late 2019, Schwalb created a new roleplaying game, using the same system as Shadow of the Demon Lord, Punkapocalyptic role-playing game. The world has gone down and nearly everyone who has lived through it has gone mad. In PunkApocalyptic: The Roleplaying Game, based on the wild and irreverent miniatures game of the same name by Bad Roll Games, you and your friends assume the roles of mercenaries who roam the Wasteland. The game was released using Kickstarter.

Dragon and Dungeon magazine articles

*Schwalb, Robert J. "Elder Evils: Shothragot." ''

'' #362. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2008. Available online
Dragon: Features
*-----. "The Essence of Evil." ''

Dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...

'' #152. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007. Available online
Dungeon #152 Table of Contents
*-----. "Infernal Aristocracy: Dukes of Hell." ''

'' #360. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007. Available online
Dragon #360 Table of Contents
*-----. "Into the Maw." ''

'' #147. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, June 2007. *-----. " Lassiviren the Dark: Ruthless Assassin." ''

'' #114. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, September 2004. *-----. "Shadow of Shothragot: The Price of Survival." Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007. Available online
Dragon: Features

Awards

*''

Grimm Grimm may refer to: People * Grimm (surname) * Brothers Grimm, German linguists ** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist ** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm * Christia ...

'' (

Fantasy Flight Games Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game developer based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing game, role-playing, board game, board, card game, card, and dice game, dice games. As of 2014, it is a division of ...

), designer - 2004 Silver

ENnie Award The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...

for Best d20 Game *''Book of Fiends'' (

), designer - 2004 Silver ENnie for Best Revision, Update or Compilation *''Advanced Bestiary'' (Green Ronin Publishing), developer - 2005 Silver ENnie for Best Monster or Adversary Product *''

Black Company The Black Company or the Black Troops () was a unit of Franconian farmers and knights that fought on the side of the peasants during the Peasants' Revolt in the 1520s, during the Protestant Reformation in Germany. Name The original German nam ...

'' campaign setting (Green Ronin Publishing), designer - 2005 Silver ENnie for Best Campaign Setting or Setting Supplement *''

'' (

Black Industries Black Industries was the role-playing game imprint of BL Publishing, the publishing arm of Games Workshop. It was announced on January 28, 2008 that it would cease operations after its products currently scheduled for release are published. Hist ...

), additional design - 2005 Gold ENnie for Best Game *''Tome of Horrors 3'' (

Necromancer Games Necromancer Games was an American publisher of role-playing games. With offices in Seattle, Washington and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the company specialized in material for the d20 System. Most of its products were released under the Open Game Licens ...

), additional design - 2006 Gold ENnie for Best Adversary/Monster Product *''Children of the Horned Rat'' (Black Industries), design and development - 2007 Silver ENnie for Best Writing *Warhammer Fantasy RolePlay: ''Lure of the Liche Lord'' (Black Industries), additional design and development - 2007 Gold ENnie for Best Adventure *''

'' (

), lead designer - 2008 Silver ENnie for Best Monster/Adversary *''Pirate's Guide to Freeport'' (Green Ronin Publishing), designer - 2008 Silver ENnie for Best Setting *'' A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying'' (Green Ronin Publishing), designer - 2009 Silver ENnie for Best Rules *'' Player's Handbook 3'' (Wizards of the Coast), designer - 2010 Silver ENnie for Best Supplement *''Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide'' - 2011 nomination for Best Games Supplement

Origins award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...

Article on 2011 Origin award nomination

Retrieved 8 May 2011

References

External links

Robert J. Schwalb's Official SiteSchwalb Entertainment, LLC's Official Site
*
Dragon Con guest pageWizards articles by Robert J Schwalb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwalb, Robert Dungeons & Dragons game designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)