Which "classic" V&V adventure writer do you like best?

I've listed only those who wrote more than one published adventure.

Here's a link showing all the modules: http://paratime.ca/v_and_v/vav_covers.html

Dave W. and Stacy S. of course are the best modern V&V adventure writers!

Great question, Troy!

Dave and Stacy definitely win right now (though technically there haven't been much in the way of "adventures"), but hopefully there will be a whole new slew of V&V adventures, such that at least there will be a bunch of names on a poll (like we have for the 'Classic' group).  Here's hoping, anyway!   

Thanks guys but I personally bow out... I don't stand a chance against the Masters of the era. Truthfully, I'm ever grateful that you people appreciate our work but I could never hold a candle to the folks that originally made this happen.

As for adventures... they are coming.... eventually. 

Majestic,
I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart, and again, I truly appreciate your words of kindness... its words such as you have expressed that truly keep the freebies and even commercial products pushing their way out the door... but I want to say that I honor those that have created the beginnings of this experience that we share together first and foremost... I am merely but a talented afterthought, at best.

Herman, Dee, Cliffe, Crow, Willingham, etc... these are the guys that deserve the credit, and honestly, in any way you can... your money. Granted, I wish that you buy from FGU when you can because I work on the side for FGU but these are the guys that you should take the special time and money to support... they are they guys that against all odds made this gaming experience happen for us.

If I can be allowed the chance to be in an odd philsophical mood... as you all will find as time goes by I do from time to time... and start rambling... and please forgive me for that...

This is a great deal like my experiences in "professional wrestling". In my years of growing up I've been through many changes (David Bowie would be so jealous... LOL!... note his song Changes for that matter), I've been a webmaster, a bass player in a punk band, a game designer, a writer, an illustrator, fortune teller of sorts, an electronica music producer (we actually have a V&V original music soundtrack in the plans for the rave club project btw... in the meanwhile, a search on internetdj.com for Tree Dweller or Culthedral will reveal my pitiful past efforts), a this, a that... whatever.... I must tell you, that despite all my efforts and grasps towards what I originally thought was 15 minutes of fame but later recognized as 15 minutes of recognized and appreciated creativity, I have realized that it is your elders of the scene and the fans that made all of it possible... not you (or rather, in this case, me) in the center of the spotlight that made it happen.

I would like to take this time to share a story....
Approximately 10 years ago I took a break from my entry efforts into game design (which ironically happened a vey few years later with my entry into Dark Quest Games (Neal Levin publisher gave me my entry, I will forever thank him for that)), I did a brief stint as a part of the independent, third party professional wrestling scene.... backstage I was Dave Woodrum the webmaster, the designer, the creative control, the guy that came up with the show posters, the mini posters, the photographer, the person that was one half of a small but rapidly growing and attention getting promotion called "GRR" Global Roughhouse Rasslin' (We were one of the few efforts that didn't have a "W" in our name... I created the name at Bob Picklesimer's (aka The Fabulous Candyman, aka Eric Stroheim, aka, Col. Bob Douglas) request... something without a W in the middles).....
We were growing, and we had a few old talents from back in the day, that made their selves legends before wrestling was mainstream, recognized, and cool....
one of the legends in our group was a guy I'll just simply call by his real first name of Larry. Larry was one of the original two Assassins (of the notorious tag team The Assassins)... Larry, along with my mentor Bob, had worked a whole ton of different people... from the Iron Sheik to the famous early midget wrestlers and beyond.... Larry was in short the elder of legends before legends could become legends... he was before NWA.  Larry was a bit of a costume nut in his time, an obsession that cost him everything... until his friend Randy stepped in and helped Larry out by breaking his habit and buying his stuff... you know Randy best as the in ring identity of Randy Savage.
I had the chance to work Larry a couple of times in the ring... "work" is a word that we insiders to the game use when it means going up against a wrestler, tagging with him, etc.... my end of working Larry was usually taking a beating from him... under one identity or another.
Most people didn't like to work Larry... he was old school and he was also not in the best of his abilities due to advanced diabetes... Larry couldn't move the best anymore, and his experience back in the old days meant that he hit somewhat for real and the moves had a bit of effort behind them... aka they hurt at times. 
A great deal of the newcomers didn't want to work the ring with Larry... they likened him to be an era gone by... and them their own selves an era yet to come... but that was all they were... an era yet to come. Myself, I practically begged my other half of the promotion starter, Bob, to work Larry... Bob and Larry both was thrilled to know someone was willing to work him openly in the ring... I myself was thrilled to be a very tiny small chapter in a ring legend's history...
and I must tell you... yes, Larry's chokes, grabs, slams, hits, etc. were a wee bit rougher than most.... but nothing than I couldn't survive... goodness knows that I did far worse to myself when I was younger on my skateboard.
I simply felt honored to be in the presence of a legend, and to be a part of their living history.
Growing dis-illusioned about the whole wrestling scene later on I shed few tears or had any regrets about leaving... except for working with Bob (another legend) as my manager in the ring and another thing... Larry.
Towards the end Larry asked me if he could get a mask just like mine (the Slik Slander mask)... my mask (which I appear as in dsumner's Empire City campaign, btw) is a copyrighted affair, and my own mask maker from way back rejects making requests of producing the mask for anyone else... even at my own request. Larry had the idea of us working as a tag team... as he a member of the "Slander family" (we had him worked out as an uncle)... I tried with my mask maker and didn't push hard enough.. he held back primarily because my mask maker wanted me to think it over before I released my custom Slik Slander mask design to be used by someone else. A short while later on diabetes did the best of Larry's feet and he lost a leg and wound up in a nursing home... he's dead now. We never had that moment in the ring together as the Slander family..... of all things I could shed a tear about in regards to my extremely brief wrestling days this is it.
This is why when I say I have a chance to work with the masters of anything... in this case the Masters of V&V... I ask anyone halfway interested in my work to please respect those that made it happen first... please, respect the masters... they are the ones that paved the way to where we are now... the Dees, the Hermans, the Cliffes... whoever, they are the ones that deserve the credit for making it happen, not me.

In that conclusion may Larry enjoy happiness in his days beyond his suffering... whatever that may be.... for while he was here he influenced at least me, if not thousands of others as well....

polarboy,
Ironically, while I was working on another project, David Bowie's "Oh You Pretty Things!" was playing in my head.

Majestic wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2010 at 1:25pm:


Majestic- yes, I get a bit overly sentimental when I play V&V 

And I'm glad that you said that, because I've been wondering what everyone tends to listen to when they play V&V!

I went with Willingham, though I too was torn.  Cliffe did outstanding stuff as well, and there's stuff about almost all of them that I really liked.

I know this sounds kinda strange, but back in the day I would play some of the lesser known tracks from a couple of Thomas Dolby cds, and a lot of punk rock and Devo. Later on it was techno and rave, and now its a mixture of all of the above.

Majestic...
I really liked that one at first but as time went on I actually preferred the obscure stuff... the rest of the tracks on Dolby's albums. Interestingly, Dolby had a trend through a good part of his career that his most light hearted song on an album was his radio hit... the rest of the tracks were more deep, and probably not really all that radio ready... kind of strange stuff.... very good but different.
On the same album as She Blinded Me With Science... which was The Golden Age Of Wireless... the two tracks I probably like the best are Flying North (#1) and Cloudburst On Shingle Street (2nd)
Probably one of his best of that era, though, was Screen Kiss (off of Flat Earth... same album as Hyperactive).

Although I've got to say that the all time most favorite of his stuff for me was the album Astronauts and Heretics... its a very deep, serious album overall. Good later fall weather stuff.

It's hard to decide.

The Destroyers were amazing. But the Island of Dr. Apocalypse was a downer. That takes Billy W. out of the running.

I want to vote for Jack Herman. Crisis was an amazing module. But his Mad Scientist adventure was a tad too goofy.

I liked going Alone into the Night with Ken Cliffe's solo adventures, but Honor was a little too pro forma.

Crow and Christensen's adventures had their ups, and their downs.

Jones didn't take the game seriously.

And I'm among those who didn't feel any love for Force or Assassin.

Stephen Dedman was creative, thorough, and steady. I wish some of the world-building ideas he tried to set up had been further explored. He wins my vote!

Honorable Mention goes out to Patrick Zircher (a Silver Medal V&V artist, next to Jeff Dee's Gold), for his great job on This Empress Earth!