Bob Traynor played Prince Morgil of Gwenethelin (originally from Blackavar) from 1989 (his first event Blackavar’s was the first Clarinda Rose-Turner threw, and was held in the old Grinnell Arena at UMass, at the time a sawdust-filled equestrian venue) to 2002 (his last event was held by Bill DeMarco, the plot of which was overrun by a war in which Banecroft and allies "curb stomped" Achoria and the Borderlands.)
He was the founder and Grand Master of the Guild of Alchemists, Knight-Commander of the Knights of the Sable Dragon, and in his words held “several other titles and knighthoods that sound fairly meaningless at this remove, and had whole lot of IC deeds and achievements, which would be tedious to relate to anyone who had other plans for the next couple of days.”
He had connections with many who are still active in game including Avendar (Tom Gallagher), Celtrex (Ken Crowley), Liselle (Maria Carr), Metron (Doug Fisher) and Baba (Jason Gray's previous character) were all in groups that were sworn to him.
He also has a long list of out of character contributions. He noted, “there are a number of rules I proposed for the Omnibus that are still in there; many were by way of setting down written rules superseding the unwritten – and oft-contradictory – customs of the Realms’ cowboy era. I was one of the organizers of the first joint event holders/players meeting, in the wake of Shannon Slate’s withdrawal, to help decide Where Do We Go From Here? I wrote a newcomers’ guide which circulated for several years. (As much as anything else, I’m grateful to have convinced an event holder that tent-burning rules were a bad idea!)”. In addition he was a long term event holder, throwing both Feasts and Quests.
“I’ll always be grateful to the Realms for distracting me in the summer of 1993, when I wasn’t in a good place in my life. I remember the next couple of years where night quests dragging on until four in the morning (not at all uncommon in the early 90s, when it wasn’t unheard of for night quests to run to dawn) had people hauling me out of bed because Only My Powers Would Save The Day, and however much I grumbled and bitched, secretly I was pleased to be one of the go-to guys. There was the event in which I set the record – which I devoutly hope no one’s had to break – for raising the dead, around 1500 in a four-hour period by a couple people’s count, well before the end of which I couldn’t speak above a whisper. I’m proud that people thought enough of my play to have been voted either first or second for the Roleplaying By A Spell caster View award three years running, and just as proud to have been voted a couple of Best Editorial awards as well.
Of quite literally a hundred or more quests, I’m proudest of the quest into the Dreaming where I led a handpicked team (including my wife Princess Julia, Baron Diamond, Sir Callin, Sir Lucas and several others) on a whirlwind quest to rescue Sir Pyr’s soul, which we had to finish in a half hour or be damned ourselves. We were tight, we were fast, we were perfect, and we got the job done.”
Bob currently lives in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, with his wife Amanda (Dion) Traynor who played Dame Julia his in-character wife. He shared that she “proposed to me out of character. Our tenth anniversary will be in a few months, and she’s by far the best to happen to me in my Realms involvement. (Or at all, ever.)”
When asked about his life these days he shared, “I did the high-powered legal whirl in Boston for too many years. I’m now back in western Massachusetts, administrator of a local church, living a much quieter life and a good deal happier. I’m also an active editor, author and editorial writer. (The last will likely surprise few 1990s View subscribers.)
I found that *not* being in the Realms enabled a number of changes in my life. Away from the dust of event sites, my singing voice recovered from over a decade of damage. I rejoined my university chorus, which allows alumni to sing, and became a soloist and the only non-undergrad section leader in the chorus’ history. With weekends no longer constantly taken up, I started tabletop RPGs once more, and began attending my local UU church. No more twice-a-week fight practices or vassals on the phone most nights wanting me to sort out issues? That time went into becoming a senior Wikipedia editor and one of the encyclopedia’s top contributors.
His final thoughts were, “I was one of the oldest regular players there was from my first event forward, and it took several grueling hours a week of fight practice by the end to keep my skills from deteriorating. (And that coughing I used to do a lot of at events? Turned out I’d been asthmatic all along. Oops.) I’m closer to collecting Social Security than to my last event.
Beyond that, I was seriously turned off by the increasing PvP of my final years; if I’d wanted a game in which half the players were real or potential enemies, I’d have done Vampire LARPing. Perhaps things are different now and the game’s back to being “us-vs-the-monsters” instead of a PvP-laden cockpit. One can always hope.
That being said ... well, let’s just say that there are plans afoot, and I’ve been talking with some folk. I predict an interesting eventing season.
What I’d like, some quiet weekend, is to put up a tent in a forest somewhere, alongside a bunch of old friends I haven’t seen in years. We’d pull on some tunics and adjust sashes and belts around thickened waists. I’d break out the Coleman stove and some pots, and throw together a good field dinner. (Beef stir fry dished over homemade rice pilaf sound good to anyone?) We’d sit around a campfire, swap stories about monsters we had known, tell lies about how great we were in the old days and how today’s players couldn’t possibly measure up, and toast absent friends. There wouldn’t be a scrap of pipe foam around, and the spell books and NPC masks would stay in the tents.
THOSE were the best times of the Realms to me. Not the quests, exciting as they were, not the Interventions, however much I loved to show off, not the tourneys, however much it was fun to compete. Campfires and friends. I hope those of you I haven’t met (at least, not yet) are out there making good friends and memories of your own.”
Editor's Note- While I recognize I’m a flawed person who has made many mistakes and continues to make them, I do also pride myself on being willing to admit that and continuing to work on improving. I mention this here, as I was truly shocked to not just receive a response to my request for information on where Bob is now, but to get a gracious and friendly one. I say this because when I read his comment that he was, “was seriously turned off by the increasing PvP of my final years”, I did so realizing I was a complete little shit at that point in history, and likely am someone who specifically decreased his enjoyment of the game. I am very grateful that he looked past that and contributed to this series. - Angie
