Dave Newton was born in California and migrated to Atlanta, Huntsvile, and now Denver. A lifelong reader and fan of science-fiction & fantasy, Dave discovered tabletop gaming in the 1980s and has been writing about characters and adventures in faraway places ever since. Over his writing career, he's published several books and games.

Dangerous Journeys

He met Gary Gygax in 1988, and submitted a draft for his Abervon fantasy campaign to New Infinities for consideration. At the time, Gary was working on the Dangerous Journeys Multi-Genre Roleplaying Game and offered Dave the chance to co-write the Mythus Fantasy rules, as well as help develop the other genres of the game system. Some projects he worked on during that time were:

• Mythus was the flagship rulebook produced by GDW, Inc., and included both the basic and advanced version of the game in one rulebook. Mythus was a skill-based roleplaying game, and allowed game masters to add or remove complexity by adjusting the difficulty rating and using the tables applicable to their style of play.
• Mythus Magic included all the rules for magickal effects and over 1,400 castings generated by the multiple schools and ethos of spellcasters, as well as magick items for use in the game.
• Mythus Prime was the separate rulebook for use by the basic game.
• The Mythus GameMaster’s Screen included tables for combat, spellcasting, and a variety of often-used rules.
• Mythus Bestiary, written by Dave and his second wife Michele, was the first in a planned trilogy of source books for the Mythus rules. It included creatures from both the inner and outer game world of Ӕrth, an Earth-like world.
• Journeys Magazine. After Mythus was released, GDW published a magazine in support of Dangerous Journeys. Dave wrote several submissions, including creature details and a treatise on the advantages of skill-based roleplaying games.
• Shadis Magazine. After the release of Dangerous Journeys, Dave was interviewed by Shadis, and subsequently published a scenario called Ridiculous Manor.

Sadly, Dangerous Journeys and Mythus were acquired by TSR, Inc., and were removed from print. The original books can still be found online in places such as Amazon and eBay, and many of the rules and concepts evolved into content to be found in later versions of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. After the Dangerous Journeys projects were canceled, Dave worked with some friends to put together a roleplaying game company called Quintessential Mercy Studio. The flagship product was called Rapture: the Second Coming – a horror RPG about the biblical Armageddon.

Rapture: The Second Coming

Rapture: The Second Coming was a novel take on the events of the book of Revelations. Quite a bit of research went into covering the different religious and philosophical factions that were represented, and the whole system was very roleplay-heavy, since combat was incredibly lethal.

Rapture: GameMaster’s Screen. This supplement contained a short adventure along with the necessary screen and tables for use by the gamemaster.

Tyranny: The First Seal was the first and only supplemental source book produced. Shortly afterward, QMS disbanded.

Twisted Bedtime Stories

Before co-founding Quintessential Mercy Studio, Dave wrote and presented erotic horror stories in a recurring convention panel called Twisted Bedtime Stories. Initially, he had collected a number of stories and art from other authors and artists to be published by QMS. Dave provided art direction layout and editing for the project. Although the project was complete and awaiting publication, the company folded, and he was forced to abandon the project – choosing instead to protect the IP and publish a small anthology of his own works. Twisted Bedtime Stories is currently available on Amazon, and we've provided a link to the listing on our Books page. Warning:The short stories in Twisted Bedtime stories are adult in nature, and meant for mature audiences.

Quest!

When Dave’s daughters were young, they were fascinated by his game sessions. One was barely tall enough to see over the table, and had an obsession with moving the figurines and rolling the dice. The other would stand behind the group’s chairs and watch carefully as the gaming strategy unfolded. He decided that there needed to be a game for them, to help them understand the basics of turn-based gaming – one that taught the values of working together, solving problems, and roleplaying, without an emphasis on combat. Dave and his wife Christi (a teacher with a degree in Early Childhood Education) created Quest! Rolplaying For Children, which is featured on our Games page.

Shaintar

Assisting a friend who was creating product for a Kickstarter project, Dave wrote Black Lantern Report: Mercenary Companies. This is a supplement for the Shaintar RPG campaign, published by Evil Beagle.

The EarthZero Evolution:

The Lightbringer's Sigil, The Anshadar Effect, and The Death Horde

Anshadar's reason to be, and one of their flagship products, The EarthZero Evolution is a trilogy about simulation theory, and so much else. They broke the rules and addressed a multitude of tropes and themes, created overpowered characters, and even more overpowered celestial beings vying for control. And of course, no cosmic contest would be complete without vilains who haven't been beaten in a hundred and thirty-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine attempts. And because both authors love music, there are a multitude of references to songs, bands, and musicians.

Dave says,

Hell, I had so much fun with it, I created an internet radio station as a tribute!

EarthZero Radio runs a set of playlists featuring Rock, Metal and Progressive music 24/7, and Dave even hosts a weekly program on Sundays called Twisted Dave's Mile High Show. A link to the station can be found below.