25 September 1971 – 29 May 2006

About Alan

It would more than fill all the pages of the world wide web to tell you everything about Alan Neill, so I won't try here. He was a person who had a great love of life, a wide range of interests, huge commitment to his friends and family, and a real dedication to his work. He was passionate about gaming, and that’s how many of us met him.

Alan joined the QUB Dragonslayers at the tender age of fifteen. He used to tell stories of sneaking into the Students’ Union via the beer keg hatch in the basement. This was back in 1986, not long after the club had been established, and the ‘old-timers’ of Dragonslayers were probably reluctant to let this blonde haired skinny kid join in their fun - especially when he brought along his friends from school.

But Alan always spoke fondly of those days, of playing Judge Dredd, D&D, Cthulhu. It wasn’t long before he and his friends were running their own games. By the time Alan started studying Psychology at QUB in 1990, he had become one of the stalwarts of Dragonslayers. No matter what other games were or were not being run, Alan’s game was there. This was usually AD&D, Greyhawk setting with about a dozen players – the large number of players he was able to entertain week in, week out was a testament to the work Alan put into his games, from intricate plots and character development to painted miniatures and hand-drawn maps.

Not to mention his acting ability - there were occasions when Alan was so enthusiastic in playing his NPCs (pygmy goblins anyone?) that the rest of the club would give him a round of applause at the end.

In 1993 Alan somewhat reluctantly became President of Dragonslayers. He was never one for putting himself directly in the spotlight, but he stayed at the head of the committee for five and a half years, until 1998. During that time, the club saw unprecedented growth and moved venue. Membership grew annually, own funds shot up from less than a hundred pounds to several thousand. And more importantly, we all had a lot of fun.

Most notably, in June 1994 Dragonslayers hosted their first gaming convention, Q-Con. Alan acted as the first convention director, moving us forward towards running an extremely successful event, when many of us believed it couldn’t be done. And he stayed involved in each convention that followed, always challenging us so we didn’t get complacent and lazy after our initial success.

When Alan resigned as President in 1998, the club acknowledged his contribution to making Dragonslayers stronger and more successful, and elected him as Honorary President. He was pleased by the recognition, but was also quite glad to get back to what he loved the most, role-playing and war-gaming, playing and gm-ing.

When rumours began to circulate that the club’s venue was due to close, Alan started to look ahead to the club’s future. He also began to question the role of older gamers within the more student orientated Dragonslayers. With several other key people, he proposed the idea of creating a new society, closely linked to DS and other groups, but more focused on ‘grown-up’ gamers.

And so TableTopNorth was born in 2004. Alan was the founding chairperson of our new society, wrote the constitution and even drew the logo (and yes, he knew people didn’t like it – he never claimed to be a graphic designer). He was clear from the start that TTN should be more than a room, that it should be a society, with a website to allow members to communicate outside of a Monday night gaming session, with regular events and social outings.

Most of all he wanted to be able to continue gaming until he was old and grey. He resisted the idea that gaming was just something for kids, and he was determined to give us all a place to meet, talk, socialise and game together. In recognition of his vision and efforts, the membership of TableTopNorth have named Alan as their Honorary President.

At the start, I said this couldn’t recount everything there is to know about Alan. It doesn’t even begin to do justice to the effort he put into running Dragonslayers or TableTopNorth, or into gaming in general. There’s just not enough room to more than touch on the Crusades AD&D competition he created for Q-Con, or the large-scale Space Marine event he organised, featuring space battles, a space station and land-war. His participation in events such as the Vietnam wargames and the various LARPs had to be seen to be believed.

And gaming was just one part of Alan’s life. His funeral was attended by close friends from work, from his school days, from his rugby club. Alan devoted time to staying in contact with friends, even ones he hadn’t seen for several years. He also found time for varied interests - he was fascinated by the history of the Crusades, and his travels included Malta, Jordan, Cyprus and Lebannon. He wrote short stories, had an eclectic taste in music and always wanted to know more, about everything.

And still, that’s not the complete picture of Alan Neill. It never could be. No words can express his sense of fun, the happiness he brought to family and friends, and the support and help he gave us freely when we needed it. And no words can express how much we miss him now.

Alan, you’ll always be in our hearts.

So clear it stands, so little overgrown,
Walking that way tonight would not seem strange,
And still would be allowed.

A Forum thread exists where others have expressed their feelings about Alan. Click here. Alan was an organ donor, and he continued to help others after his death. For more information on registering as an organ donor, visit www.uktransplant.org.uk.