Allen qualifies as a guest under several categories: game designer, author, scientist, and even actor!

Allen Hammack, the “Master of Mythology”, writes with authority on using myths and legends of the world in gaming. He wrote three books on the subject (Fantastic Treasures I and II, and Monsters of Myth & Legend III) for Mayfair Games. Sadly, these literary gems are hard-to-find collectors' items! (i.e., the royalties have stopped…) He contributed to the new edition of the WWI boardgame Dawn Patrol. In addition, Allen designed a boardgame based on the mythical Norse battle of Ragnarok, and was a chief editor of Deities & Demigods and Dungeon Masters Guide during the five years he served at TSR. Hired by Gary Gygax, Allen was Manager of Designers during the “Golden Era” of TSR, supervising a talent pool that included Tracy Hickman, Harold Johnson, Lawrence Schick, Zeb Cook, Tom Moldvay, and others. In his gaming career, Allen has contributed to some 70 products as author, designer, editor, or developer. These include the popular classic C2: Ghost Tower of Inverness; A1-A4: The Slave Lords Series; I9: Day of Al-Akbar; the games Top Secret and Boot Hill, and the tournament AD&D adventure Night of the Black Swords. His Inverness module was referenced in the 2005 movie Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, as Berek says the cleric was with him “at the assault on Castle Inverness”. (At which point a veteran player of Allen's campaign said, “Now we know it's a fantasy—implying anyone went to Inverness and came out alive!”) Allen's current gaming interests are mostly directed towards railroad boardgames and Dawn Patrol (he's a nationally ranked competitor in both), World of Warcraft and Puerto Rico.

After leaving TSR, Allen returned to Birmingham and with his wife Susan started the Lion and Unicorn game, book, and comic store, which they sold many years ago but still have fond memories of friends and customers. He helped design computer programs to diagnose leukemias and anemias for cardiovascular research at UAB; worked as Manager of Information Systems for an explosives manufacturer, and worked as a quality control chemist for an alloy and metals processor. For over fifteen years Allen has been putting his chemistry degree to work as an environmental chemist/programmer analyst for a secret government laboratory in an undisclosed location, where he and his pal Pinky plot to take over the world. (Just checking to see if you're all paying attention!) In this capacity he has lectured and presented some scientific papers, and he squeezes in guest appearances at the occasional convention. Allen was a founder of the Birmingham Doctor Who fan club, now known as the Blue Box Companions (aka the BBC, of course). He also served on the Board of Directors for Continuity, the Birmingham science fiction convention that had several successful years.

Allen has a B.S. in Chemistry, a Master's in computer science and he has done post-graduate work in chemistry, business administration, and environmental science. Allen was an editor for Ærodrome, the magazine of the Fight In The Skies Society (WWI aviation), and wrote a chapter of its melodramatic serial, Adventure! and Glory?, in which…ah, but that would be telling…

Allen has been in over 40 theatrical productions, including an opera set in the American Old West, as Caiaphas in a local production of Jesus Christ, Superstar, and as an extra in the Tommy Lee Jones baseball movie Cobb. Allen earned a green belt in jujitsu before retiring with no bones broken, which he considered an even trade. Players of NTN Trivia Showdown on Tuesday nights may occasionally see him on the leader board under the logon "DR WHO".

Favorite Introduction: By Dragonlance co-author Tracy Hickman to Margaret Weis— "Allen is the man who taught me how to write.”

We are the Wandering Men. Davis, Ashy, and Hall have been friends for many a year, while Nathan is a relatively recent addition to the group, but it's amazing how well we mesh. Perhaps it's the forty pound packs on our backs and the miles that pass beneath our feet - the trails we faced bound us together.

It's not strange to find a group of men that enjoy backpacking and camping, but it's far rarer to find such a group where all of them enjoy writing as well. We weave plots as we wind up mountain switchbacks, and shape stories as we set the foundations for our nightly fire pit. The two interests define the Wandering Men.

There was a night around a fire when Davis spoke of an idea - a dream: a group of men that not only wander together, but write together. It resonated with me. But I didn't think about it again until Ashy approached us with a job: writing short stories for a Dark Quest compilation. I initially threw the name out jokingly in a few e-mails when talking about us, but it had a power that couldn't be denied.

Just as we faced the trials of the trail together, we crafted Skein of Shadows (Dark Quest Games) together. Each of the stories merges with one another and their plots weave together to build something amazing - the book is creative synergy. None of us could have done it without the other.

We are the Wandering Men.

Please visit the Web site:  http://www.wanderingmen.com/