Kenzer & Company (KenzerCo) is a

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

based publisher of

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, 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 these roles within ...

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

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 (such as poker). A small number of card ...

s, and miniature games. They are known for the ''

Kingdoms of Kalamar The Kingdoms of Kalamar is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting created by Kenzer and Company, originally released in 1994. In 2000, shortly after Wizards of the Coast announced the 3rd edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', Wizards and Ke ...

'' campaign setting and for their own ''

HackMaster HackMaster is a fantasy role-playing game produced by Kenzer & Company. It began as a fictional game, a parody of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' played by the characters of the ''Knights of the Dinner Table'' comic strip by Jolly R. Blackburn. The ...

'' and '' Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier'' role-playing games (RPGs). Perhaps their best known product is the ''

Knights of the Dinner Table ''Knights of the Dinner Table'' (''KoDT'') 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 ...

'' (''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 (a.k.a. ''K.ILL'') 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 (KODT) but from the point of view o ...

'' and ''Spacehack'', licensed comics in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' line, and the fantasy literature magazine ''Black Gate''. Other products include the ''

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 (Circle) of vicious, cannibal fairies. Game ...

'' miniatures game, the ''

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 tribu ...

'' web strips, the ''

Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is a 1975 British comedy film satirizing the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) an ...

'' 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 Blackburn Jolly Randall Blackburn is best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Knights of the Dinner Table''. Biography Jolly Blackburn went to Ball State University. Jolly Blackburn majored in anthropology, history, and classical cultures in colle ...

- Vice-President and creator of ''

'' * 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

Unlicensed supplements and trademark issues

In 1994, Kenzer & Company released ''

The Kingdoms of Kalamar ''The Kingdoms of Kalamar'' is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting published by Kenzer & Company in 1994 that is compatible with the second edition of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' published by TSR. Contents ''The Kingdoms of Kalama ...

'', a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

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 ca ...

compatible with ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...

''. 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 The Open Game License (OGL) is a public copyright license by Wizards of the Coast that may be used by tabletop role-playing game developers to grant permission to modify, copy, and redistribute some of the content designed for their games, nota ...

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

material, using the Kalamar setting exclusively. With the release of the fourth edition, Wizards of the Coast introduced its

Game System License The Game System License is a license that allows third-party publishers to create products compatible with and using the intellectual property from the 4th edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). It was released to the public by Wizards of th ...

, which represented 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'' that did not conform to the new GSL for approved use, instead releasing the campaign setting as an unlicensed supplement, similar to the original publication. The ''Dungeons & Dragons''

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

is used in accordance with US law under a concept called

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 de ...

– the book merely says that it is for use with the new version. David Kenzer is named as an expert in copyright law.Kenzer Co, D&D and Trademarks
from the Robertson Games Website

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenzer and Company Board game publishing companies Card game publishing companies Companies based in Lake County, Illinois Game manufacturers Role-playing game publishing companies Waukegan, Illinois