| Kim Eastland | |
| Birth Date: | February 26, 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Moline, Illinois, United States |
| Death Place: | Moline, Illinois, United States |
| Resting Place: | Rosedale Cemetery (Cambridge, Illinois) |
| Occupation: | Game designer |
Kimber "Kim" Lee Eastland (February 26, 1952 – January 29, 2020[1]) was a game designer who worked for TSR.
Kim Eastland was born in Moline, Illinois, one of two children of Everett and Margaret Eastland. He attended Alleman High School in nearby Rock Island, then earned a bachelor's degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, studying pre-med, English, and theater.[2]
In 1981, at age 19, Eastland began working for the tabletop miniatures manufacturer Grenadier Models as their publicist and the editor of their new newsletter, The Grenadier Bulletin.
In 1983, he started working for TSR from his home in Moline, becoming the network coordinator of the RPGA, succeeding founder Frank Mentzer.[3] He also became managing editor of the RPGA's newsletter, Polyhedron.[4]
Eastland became a prolific author for TSR, writing role-playing game adventures for various product lines including Dungeons & Dragons, Conan Role-Playing Game, Gamma World, and Marvel Superheroes, as well as a rules supplement for Star Frontiers.[1]
He also contributed multiple articles to TSR's games magazine Dragon, including several about Star Frontiers and Gamma World. Between February 1983 (Issue #70) and May 1984 (Issue #85), he wrote a regular column about new miniature lines by various companies titled Figure Feature.
During this time, Eastland also coordinated the miniature painting competition associated with Gen Con called the Gen Con Miniature Open.[5] [6]
In 1992, Eastland returned to Grenadier Models, again as publicist and editor of The Grenadier Bulletin.[7] [8]
For many years, Eastland was involved in the Playcrafters Barn Theater in Moline, where he performed, directed and was the office manager. Starting in 1997, he also performed with the improvisational comedy group "It's a Mystery",[9] and wrote the interactive whodunit scripts for the group.
Kim Eastland died at age 67 of pancreatic cancer on January 29, 2020, at his home in Moline.[1]
. Lawrence Schick. Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books . 1991. 0-87975-653-5 .