Chad Patterson

Doctor Chad Oneil Patterson, MD (a.k.a. "Prodigal-Gamer") is a fantasy author, cosplayer, and general surgeon from Prestonsburg, Kentucky. He is the creator of The Tale of Emily Barnes and the Two Jens, as well as a co-creator of its adaptation Camelorum Adventures.

Personal life
Chad was born in 1975, and has lived most of his life in Kentucky. He is married to his wife Jen. He knows several other women named Jen as well, and several Emilys. (It is believed that Jenny Jane, Jenny Kay, and Emily Barnes may be fictional composites of these women.) He is an avid supporter of the Lizzie B's Cafe in Prestonsburg, which he frequently visits.

He enjoys alternative rock music, running, and LARP. He designs his own costumes as well to support these activities, where he likes to portray fantasy and medieval characters. His favorite games include Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder. Favorite authors of his include Frank Herbert, George R. R. Martin, and Timothy Zahn. His favorite TV shows include Game of Thrones, True Blood, and The Walking Dead.

Education
Chad is a graduate of the Pulaski County High School in Somerset. From there, he attended the University of Louisville for a general surgeon's program, and began specializing in endoscopy. He graduated into his doctor program in 2002, and interned at the University of Toledo's medical center.

As a surgeon
Chad's main base of operations is the Archer Clinic of Prestonsburg, where he meets clients to discuss surgery. Though, actual surgeries are performed at the Highland Regional Medical Center. According to WebMD and other sites, he consistently rates very highly, making him a valued practitioner for his area.

As a writer
Chad has often wrote, mostly fantasy works, as a hobby when not at his day job. He recounts that around late 2011 or early 2012 some time, he had a dream in which his wife was involved in a car accident. She survives, but the car crashes into a fountain in the dream. The next several images he had were of a chain gang of women rebuilding the fountain. Inspired, he began writing down his ideas. He decided that this vision deserved to be depicted online, in case something could be made of it one day.

The first few artists willing to charge him for commissioned artwork were Irina Anghel of Romania and Karina MacGill of Hungary. Later, Shases and a few other artists would also get on board with commissions and contests to perform their takes on the life of Jenny Jane, Jenny Kay, and Emily Barnes as they were sent to jail for wrecking the fountain and had to pay restitution. The Tale of Emily Barnes and the Two Jens was born.

From 2012-2015, artists began accepting money to draw related artwork in their own styles. In 2015, research being done for Sodality: Vindication led to the discovery of the Prodigalverse. As humorous captions were being added to the images, a sort of quasi-continuity began to take shape for a slapstick cartoon that reinterpreted the semi-serious panels in comedic fashion. With Chad's blessing, this was pursued into what would become known as Camelorum Adventures.

Several bits of ambiguity about character identities from original artists also led to a variety of characters being made second-hand that were intended to be part of the original cast. Emily, for example; inspired: Gwen Indot, Carly Rancine, Candace Mason, and Annie Tudinous to come into form. What may have been just Kisha Lowpound originally became Kisha and Anita Hallot - the bubbly counterpart. The Jens began as reasonably smart apart from their DUI convictions and rather classy. However, this became exaggerated into them becoming mad scientists that invent whatever the plot requires.

In addition to all this, he has also written a story dubbed Nebulous, about a woman who gets turned into an elf - along with other crazy adventures.

Characters created or co-created
Chad has written numerous short stories, many of which are not documented on this database. However, he has directly played a role in the creation of the following Camelorum Adventures characters:


 * Stan Woudean
 * Kisha Lowpound
 * Semaphore
 * Jenny Jane
 * Jenny Kay
 * Samantha Garner
 * Katrina Cantina
 * Melinda Rotinda
 * Beatrice Index
 * Luin Kim
 * Julie Mulie
 * Anita Hallot
 * Gwen Indot
 * June O'Reilly
 * The Glob

Many other characters have been based off of these ones through various panel reinterpretations by other artists, expanding on the cast and continuity.