link
I was fortunate enough to grow up in the late 90s with Lee Hammock for a best friend. We did everything two geeky guys could get up to. We Larped, played countless RPGs, stayed up late watching Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and were the only two adults in an early showing of Muppets Treasure Island once. We laughed so hard we scared the kids.
We roamed far and wide…imagined much…and had countless adventures. Lee went on to win "geek quest". He worked on the Halo Graphic Novel, wrote part of Dawning Star, co-designed the Farscape RPG, and even worked for DC comics. His list of feats as an author is considerable. He broke into digital gaming, being the lead designer for Fallen Earth. He worked for Trip Wire, Zenimax, and had just landed work at Blizzard as a Senior Quest Designer. He even taught Fundamentals of Game Design at the University of Washington. Dude took what he loved in life and made a career out of it.
Lee is now in hospice and unresponsive due to a stroke.
He was the best Game Master I have ever known. D6 Star Wars was our jam back in high school. He and I ran the Haven Larp here in Georgia for some time. I still remember the first day I met him. I factually told him we were going to be best friends…and that is the way it was. He was well loved by many people with his big grin, goofy cackle, and love of wide brim hats. In my mind we were always that 20-something geek duo looking for the next awesome game to immerse ourselves in.
They are taking donations to help his family during all of this. You can contribute to the fund here:
link
Sorry if this was a bit scattered. Still processing things. If you happened to know Lee or were a fan of his work, feel free to reach out and talk to me. I would love to hear about it.