Game designer Bruce Heard should be well known to fans of TSR era Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. In particular, he is known for his work on the Classic D&D (BECMI) game and the World of Mystara, including his role in creating the Gazetteer series and the Voyage of the Princess Ark. He was the Product Manager of the Classic D&D line and eventually became Product Manager of TSR before the company was acquired by WotC.
When he returned to game design after a hiatus, Bruce attempted to gain permission from WotC to produce 3rd party content for Mystara, but when those negotiations failed, he decided to create his fantasy own world. That world is the World of Calidar.
Sadly, fans learned yesterday that the Calidar series have come to an end. When asked about future Calidar books, Bruce Heard responded the following in the Calidar Facebook Chat Group:
Given the limited sales of the last series, I can't find the energy to launch another. These books represent a major amount of work, and I'm not getting any younger. It's a heartbreaking decision, but in the face of the apparent lack of activity after the latest Kickstarter and little or no ensuing feedback, I'm not comfortable pursuing the Calidar project.
The first Calidar Kickstarter was launched in 2013 and it has been an amazing ride since then. The World of Calidar is a unique fantasy universe spanning many worlds with their own unique atmosphere, brought to life by the writing of Bruce Heard with additional contribution from other collaborators, most notably Thorfinn Tait.
Following the adventures of the sky ship Star Phoenix in its exploration of the World of Calidar and its universe has been an amazing ride over the last decade. I am greatly thankful to Bruce Heard for the books and gaming material he has provided for us during 10 year run. You can follow Bruce Heard via his blog. If you want to show your thanks to Bruce, now is the time to buy Calidar books!
Get Your Calidar Books from DrivethruRPG (Not an Affiliated Link)
-Havard
It is sad, especially when an author as well-respected as Bruce puts a lot of time and effort into world creation only for him to decide it is no longer worth the effort. Calidar was always going to face competion, not least from his previous efforts in Mystara, which had the advantage of being supported and published by TS, thus getting much wider recognition.
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