You might say the first time was the charm for Frank Mentzer. But
you’d be only partially right.
Oh, sure, Frank won the 4th Invitational AD&D® Masters Tournament at Gen Con XIII — the first time he entered an official roleplaying competition.
But Mentzer, 29, is hardly a newcomer to AD&D. And he’s spent
more than half his life “on stage,” not the worst training a Dungeon
Master could have.
Mentzer and more than a dozen others were entered in the Invitational, which turned the tables on the competitors this year. Instead of
selecting the best player, the judges graded DM ability. Though the
final standings were extremely close, judges E. Gary Gygax, Brian
Blume and Jim Ward of TSR Hobbies named Mentzer the outstanding Dungeon Master, after spending three hours negotiating the traps
and monsters of each of the entrants’ dungeons.
A silver loving cup and gold-plated amulet were awarded to
Mentzer, who said he was surprised “totally — absolutely, completely
and sincerely” when the award was announced at the ceremony on
the convention’s final day, Aug. 24.
Second place went to Bob Blake, while Len Lakofka was third.
Both served as day managers for the convention, and Mentzer is employed in TSR’s production department. But Mentzer said he was as
nervous as a freshman DM when he sat down in Gygax’ office before
the convention for his session with the judges. A relative newcomer to
TSR — he joined the company in January — he works in another
building from the three judges and had met each of them only once or
twice before the competition.
“Psychologically, it was heavy,” he said. “I was nervous through the
whole thing.”
The stage fright came despite his 18 years of experience as a

musician, which includes a solo guitar performance at the White
House. Being an entertainer makes it easier to “perform” for players
in his campaigns, Mentzer said, and also gave him the free time to develop his knowledge of the game.
What makes a good Dungeon Master?
“I feel it’s exactly the thing Gary Gygax keeps saying,” according to
Frank. “The Dungeon Master must be absolutely neutral. And a good
knowledge of the rules helps, so the players don’t get itchy while
you’re looking up details.
“The most important thing, though, is attitude. I’m Dungeon
Mastering to entertain the players. If they’re not having a good time,
them I’m not having a good time, and something’s wrong.”
Frank must have been doing something right in Philadelphia, his
home before moving to Lake Geneva, Wis. to join TSR. More than
150 player characters were involved in his campaign there. Mentzer
kept track of his major non-player characters on 3 x 5 index cards, and
had 300 or so filed away, along with 1,000 or more lesser NPC’s.
Although he doesn’t claim to be the best dungeon designer around,
terming his abilities “average,” Ward said the judges disagreed.
“His scenario was very good,” Ward said, “and his story made us
want to get busy and solve the problem. He communicated to us
verbally what was happening very well and his knowledge of the
game was excellent. We deliberately tried to cheat, using spells we
didn’t have and breaking rules, but we didn’t get very much by Frank”
“Frank has a good intrinsic knowledge of the game,” said Brian
Blume. “He DM’s very, very well on a technical basis, but he’s still able
to handle things when it gets wild and crazy.” And Brian freely admitted that he and the other judges did everything in their power to be
“wild and crazy” with each DM in the contest.
Mentzer, who started playing about four years ago, says he plays
strictly “by the book,” with no rule variations on his own. “It would be
easier to not go by the book,” he said. “It would be easier to make my
own rules, because some situations are hard to handle as the rules are
set up. But going by the book gives the players a feeling of security. If
they learn everything that’s in the books, then they know all there is to
know.”
Other contestants in the Invitational included Erol Otus, a member
of the TSR Hobbies art staff, who placed fourth; J. Eric Holmes,
famous author and co-creator of Basic D&D, who tied for fifth with
Lawrence Schick, the head of TSR Hobbies’ Design and Production
department. The other entrants, in alphabetical order, included: Tim
Cahoon, Dave Cook, Al Hammack, Harold Johnson, Mike Mayeau,
Brian Price, Gary Peyre-Ferry, Charles Sagui, Tom Towns, and Ralph
Williams.