Matt Balent

My name is Matt Balent and I began my role playing career back in 1975 when I bought a copy of Dungeons & Dragons by TSR, Inc. via mail order.  I was one of the founding members of the Wayne Weregamers (Wayne State University 1978) and the Detroit Gaming Center (1980).  I self published a small booklet entitled 'Weapons' in 1981 which became later became 'Weapons and Armour' published by my friend Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books in late 1981.  This became a big hit for Palladium and began the 'Weapons series' of books by them throughout the 1980's.

Starting in 1982 I attended (with Palladium Books) every Gencon in Wisconsin until 1991 as well as several Origins game conventions of the time.  I was also active in the Metro Detroit Gamers (MDG) group for several years in the early 1980's.  I worked extensively with Palladium Books during it's early years assisting with layout, keylining, and other production tasks.  I also typeset the original Palladium Role Playing Game (1982) using a Wyse-50 terminal with acoustic modem hookup.

Works published by Palladium Books

• Weapons & Armour (1981)
• Weapons & Castles (1982)
• The Valley of the Pharaohs (1983)
• Weapons & Castles of the Orient (1984)
• Exotic Weapons (1984)
• European Castles (1985)
• Monsters & Animals (1985) - contributor
• After the Bomb (1986) - contributor
• Revised Recon (1986) - contributor
• Compendium of Weapons, Armour, & Castles (1989)
• Compendium of Contemporary Weapons (1993) - contributor  

Works self published

• Weapons (1981)
• Journal of Weapons & Armour (1982)
• Weapon System (1983)