Lawrence Schick
Lawrence Schick | |
|---|---|
| Born | United States |
| Occupation(s) | Game designer, author |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Known for | White Plume Mountain, Heroic Worlds, Star Frontiers, The Elder Scrolls Online, Baldur's Gate 3 |
Lawrence Schick is a prominent American designer and author specializing in both tabletop role-playing games and digital gaming.
Early life and education
Schick pursued his studies at Kent State University located in Ohio.
Career
During the early 1980s, Schick served as the head of design and development at TSR, where he expanded the creative team by bringing on influential designers such as Tom Moldvay and David Cook. He is credited with creating White Plume Mountain (1979), an adventure module for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons that became integrated into the Greyhawk campaign setting. In 2004, Dungeon magazine ranked this module as the ninth greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure, highlighting its intricate puzzle design.
In 1981, Schick contributed to the creation of Thieves' World, a multi-system boxed set from Chaosium, inspired by Robert Lynn Asprin's novels. The following year, he collaborated with David Cook to coauthor TSR's science fiction role-playing game Star Frontiers.
Schick authored the authoritative book Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games in 1991, serving as a detailed reference for the gaming industry. He has also held leadership positions within America Online.
In May 2009, Schick joined ZeniMax Online Studios as the lead content designer for The Elder Scrolls Online. He later advanced to lead writer and subsequently lead loremaster before his departure in 2019. Afterward, he contributed to a mobile project for WarDucks based in Dublin, Ireland. Since 2021, Schick has held the position of Principal Narrative Designer at Larian Studios’ Dublin branch, where he has played a key role in developing Baldur's Gate 3. The writing team received the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing in recognition of their work.