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The Steam Tunnel Incident Sample file 2 HAWK & MOOR The Golden Age of Fantasy Role-Playing Special edition: The steam tunnel incident By KENT DAVID KELLY (DARKSERAPHIM) Dedicated to the Memory Of James Dallas Egbert iii WONDERLAND IMPRINTS 2014 – 2015 Sample file O S R THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT KENT DAVID KELLY 3 Sample file HAWK & MOOR KENT DAVID KELLY 4 Copyright © 2013-2015 Kent David Kelly. ~ All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder, Kent David Kelly. ~ All products and names mentioned in this book are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. The mention of trademarks in this work is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as a challenge. HAWK & MOOR is an historical research project developed with the primary intent of broadening the popular awareness of, and appreciation for, Fantasy Role-Playing Games. ~ Quotes attributed to various individuals are derived from a wide array of filmed interviews, online forum posts, magazines, books, newsletters, and various game-oriented materials. Please refer to the Footnotes and Annotations section for detailed citations. Individuals who wish to have their own quoted words alluded to, rather than quoted directly, are welcome to contact the author with requests for modification, emendation or deletion of specific comments. ~ The cover of this volume features a detail from The Simoniac Pope, by William Blake, created c. 1824-1827. ~ (Document Version 1.4) ~ For corrective and revision purposes, please note that this is document version 1.4 of this manuscript, completed in January of 2015. Versions prior to this are slightly outdated, and have been corrected as more interviews, documents, corrections and feedback have come to light. ~ In the age of the Internet, a printed book can never contain the final word. Therefore, the eBook version of this volume is intended as a living document, so that interested readers can receive notification of updates and enjoy a resource book which is constantly revised, one whichSample does not merely sit upon the shelf going slowly and forever outfile of date. The print version of this volume may be slightly out of date, as in-depth research into the ever-shifting THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT KENT DAVID KELLY 5 field of Role-Playing Game history continues to grow, diversify and change. ~ Please feel welcome to contact the author at [email protected] with comments, questions, requests, recommendations and greetings. And thank you for reading! Sample file HAWK & MOOR KENT DAVID KELLY 6 DESCRIPTION THE MORE SINISTER urban legends concerning the Steam Tunnel Incident run as follows: A young genius, seduced and deluded by a mind-controlling fantasy game, abandoned his Satanic gaming cult because he feared for his life. He then delved into the netherworld, a labyrinthine “dungeon” of steam tunnels running for miles beneath a sprawling university. There, under the influence of drugs, occult talismans, evil magic or mere insanity, he mistook fantasy for reality and tried to slay his invoked dragons, demons and devils in real life. Finally, he became hopelessly lost in the tunnels. Facing a slow and horrible demise in the endless dark, he committed suicide. Or, he was murdered by a conspiracy of Lucifer-worshipping gamer-cultists who silenced him to keep their secret safe. The most disturbing rumors of all insisted rather that he survived, but he lost his mind and could never sleep again, until he committed suicide a year and a day later. Intriguing and lurid stories, with all of the trappings of classic urban legendry. But what really happened? Who was the victim? Was it a living nightmare or a hoax? What caused the national sensation and media hysteria in 1979? Why were fantasy-role playing games (FRPGs) the subject of a religious witch hunt, demonized well into the 1980s, and derided by some as a dangerous cultic indulgence even today? The truth is even more fascinating than the legends themselves. James Dallas Egbert III did exist, and he did play FRPGs. Police and private investigators did explore the steam tunnels for many miles and hours, finding the clues he left behind. And he did tragically end his own life in 1980. But the real secrets involving his torment, disappearance, rescue and demise are far more remarkable than the legends surrounding the Steam Tunnel Incident to this day. HAWK & MOOR: The Steam Tunnel Incident is an exploration of this persistent mystery which is still poorly understood; a journey into fantasy, intrigue, secrecy, urban exploration and the dark reality of the steam tunnels themselves. Author and researcher Kent David Kelly is also the author of Necronomicon: The Cthulhu Revelations, From the Fire, Arachne, and the Castle Oldskull series of gaming supplements. This is a special editionSample in the larger series of HAWK & MOOR, exploring the early historyfile of role-playing games. THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT KENT DAVID KELLY 7 A unique offering, THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT comprises 50,100 words, 12 chapters and over 150 pages. An unforgettable updated and revised release from Wonderland Imprints. Sample file HAWK & MOOR KENT DAVID KELLY 8 DEDICATION This book is intended to honor the memory of James Dallas Egbert III, Who was never truly understood. ~ From a fellow gamer, dreamer, programmer, Explorer and outsider ... ~ I never knew you, But I consider you a friend. Rest in peace. Sample file THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT KENT DAVID KELLY 9 disclaimer Dungeons & Dragons, D & D and Dungeon Master are registered trademarks belonging to Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, representing their printed instructional materials for fantasy role-playing games, and other goods produced by Wizards of the Coast or its licensees. This book, including reference to Wizards of the Coast’s trademarks, was prepared without Wizards of the Coast’s review and is neither sponsored nor authorized by Wizards of the Coast or by their parent company. Sample file HAWK & MOOR KENT DAVID KELLY 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS Front Matter [F-1] Title [F-2] Description [F-3] Dedication [F-4] Disclaimer [F-5] Table of Contents [F-6] Introduction ~ Chapter 1 – A Tangled Web [1-1] The Childhood of a Prodigy [1-2] The Dawn of Fantasy Role-Playing [1-3] University Steam Tunnels and Tunnel Hacking [1-4] Computers & Catacombs [1-5] Zork and the Steam Tunnels of MIT [1-6] Did Dallas Computerize Dungeons & Dragons? ~ Chapter 2 – A Kingdom of Solitude [2-1] The Advent at MSU [2-2] Reaching Out to Nothing Sample[2-3] Inward and Downward file [2-4] And Fading Away THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT KENT DAVID KELLY 11 ~ Chapter 3 – Into the Steam Tunnels [3-1] Day One: The Case Begins [3-2] Days Two through Five: Gone and Forgotten [3-3] The Dragons of Kenosha [3-4] Day Six: Belated Awareness [3-5] Day Seven and Beyond: The Enigma of the Tunnel Secret ~ Chapter 4 – Move and Counter-Move [4-1] Days Eight and Nine: The Hunt Begins [4-2] Days Nine through Fifteen: A Thousand Questions [4-3] The Truth of Dallas’ Whereabouts ~ Chapter 5 – Dangerous Misconceptions [5-1] Days Fifteen and Sixteen: The Imagined Dungeon [5-2] Day Seventeen: Trestling [5-3] Lost in Louisville [5-4] Collateral Damage ~ SampleChapter 6 – A Game of Darkness file [6-1] Day Eighteen: Interested Parties HAWK & MOOR KENT DAVID KELLY 12 [6-2] Day Eighteen, Continued: Lure of the Underworld [6-3] Dallas in Hiding [6-4] Day Nineteen: The Call of the Labyrinth [6-5] Day Twenty: An Unwise Expedition ~ Chapter 7 – Tunnels of Chaos [7-1] Days Twenty-One and Twenty-Two: The Outsider in Exile [7-2] Day Twenty-Two: Clashes with Law Enforcement [7-3] Days Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four: The Steam Tunnels ~ Chapter 8 – Abandoned Hope [8-1] Lost in the World of the Living [8-2] Day Twenty-Four: A Helping Hand, and Empty-Handed [8-3] Day Twenty-Five: Mysterious Voices [8-4] Day Twenty-Six: Worlds Apart [8-5] Day Twenty-Seven: Scenting for Blood ~ Chapter 9 – The Light at the End [9-1] Day Twenty-Eight: Delicate Arrangements [9-2] Days Twenty-Nine and Thirty: Lingering Darkness [9-3] Day Thirty-One: Homecoming Sample file ~ THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT KENT DAVID KELLY 13 Chapter 10 – Aftermath [10-1] The Hunger for More [10-2] Mazes and Monsters [10-3] The Boy Not Yet Forgotten [10-4] The Return of Darkness [10-5] Good Publicity ~ Chapter 11 – The Birth of a Legend [11-1] The Last Decision [11-2] The Slow Descent [11-3] Without Peace [11-4] Secret and Strange Arrangements [11-5] The Death and the Rise of LARPing [11-6] Monsters Unleashed ~ Chapter 12 – Seeds of Discord [12-1] Differing Views [12-2] The Legend Conquers Truth [12-3] Urban Legendry ~ SampleConclusion file [C-1] Resources & Bibliography HAWK & MOOR KENT DAVID KELLY 14 [C-2] Recommended Reading & Gaming [C-3] Newspaper Articles Referenced [C-4] Websites & Online Supplements Researched [C-5] About the Author [C-6] Other Books by Kent David Kelly Sample file THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT KENT DAVID KELLY 15 INTRODUCTION IN AUGUST of 1979, a young man named James Dallas Egbert III — a gifted student, computer science major and Dungeons & Dragons player — went missing from his dormitory at Michigan State University (MSU). Police were finally notified five days after he disappeared. MSU administration feared a potential backlash, because this missing person was only sixteen years old and legally a child under MSU protection in lieu of parental supervision. Police, despite a few anonymous tips concerning the steam tunnels, student death, abduction and a possible conspiracy, had few actual leads. Frustrated with the university and the stalled investigation, this young man’s parents contacted the famous private detective William C.
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