In Loving Memory of Rod "Random" Adams (1973-2025)

Caomhnoir de na Iomproidh Buí

Joined Gaiscioch: November 25th, 2019 (Introduced by Caludon)
Known in-game as: @RandomTX

It is with heavy hearts and deep respect that we announce the passing of one of our cherished Gaiscioch family members, Rod "Random" Adams.

Random joined our ranks in Elder Scrolls Online on November 25th, 2019, through his friend Caludon, and later became a familiar and friendly face in Guild Wars 2 as well. From the moment he stepped into our world, he brought with him not just skill and dedication, but compassion, patience, and a genuine love for community.

Throughout his years with us, Random became a decorated leader, hosting countless community events and guiding adventurers through treacherous dungeons with wisdom and kindness. He completed over 137 successful dungeon runs, earning the respect and admiration of all who followed him into battle.

His leadership, generosity, and unwavering spirit earned him one of the highest honors in our family—the title of Caomhnoir de na Iomproidh Buí, a rank reserved for those who dedicate themselves fully to the fellowship and its values.

What Our Members Remember:

"Great leader—patient and helpful :)"
— Narikka, Feb. 07, 2020

These words reflect just a small piece of the impact Random had on us all.

View Random's Profile

Share Your Memories

Rod will forever hold a place in our Halls of the Ascended, and we invite all who knew him to share their memories, tributes, and stories below. Whether you joined him on a dungeon run, laughed with him during a gathering, or were inspired by his leadership, your voice is part of his legacy.

Let us celebrate the life of a true champion, brother-in-arms, and friend.

Safe travels, Caomhnoir Random. May the stars guide your path and the winds carry our love with you always.

Thank you Fog. I first met Random in Guild Wars 1 when my guild joined his alliance. A bunch of us moved to Guild Wars 2 as the "Fellowship of Wizards" and I played with him on and off since that time. Over the last few years a small group of us played together almost every weekend. 

I would be dishonest if I didn't say our relationship was sometimes complicated. In the early days I was very much a noob at MMOs in general, while Rod was very knowledgeable. I learned a lot from Rod, but sometimes felt the pressure to do things his way. At one point a few years ago I got to the point where I just wasn't having fun any more and stepped away from Guild Wars 2 for about 18 months. During that time Rod and the crew played ESO and I spent time doing family stuff and fixing my life balance.
When I returned to the game, I joined back up with the crew and I found that both of us had changed. Rod had spent time leading in ESO, and I think (hope) I had a better attitude to gaming and people in general. Rod helped me as I led events for Aurora and Vision and gave very good advice about gaining legendary weapons and armor. We had fun together in WVW, ran more fractals and the new story, and most recently rolled brand new Charr for a new run through the entire GW2 base story.  

If you ask most people what they remember about Rod, as well as the helpful advice I'm pretty sure it will be his dry and sarcastic humor. He had a quick wit, and he kept it at the ready. 
When he didn't show up for our Sunday night run this week, we were worried he might be unwell. We weren't ready for the sad news of his passing. Random - you would probably hate the sentimentality, but I am going to miss you.

Rob

I am perhaps the person who had known Rod the longest, as the leader of the Guild Wars 1 guild that Rod joined back in the mid 2000's and the leader of the GW2 guild Rod was part of from launch. I remember Rod asking a ton of questions about GW1, including the specifics of how the game functioned, in ways that I had never even thought about. As time passed, Rod and I became friends outside of the game, meeting up at the Google campus in Mountain View multiple times during his tenure as a senior engineer for Google. Simply stated, Rod was a complicated but absolutely brilliant person. He thought differently, and that led him to do things which most others had not even contemplated. Rod could come across as a bit of a know it all, but it NEVER came across as spiteful. Although our GW1 guild dwindled as GW1 grew long in the tooth, Rod was the one that found Gaiscioch, which prompted all of us still playing GW1 to join the Sanctum of Rall server in Guild Wars 2. When our Fellowship of Wizards players moved over to GW2, Rod was a mainstay of our group, serving as a core officer as we explored every corner of the GW2 world. I played GW2 with Rod almost every week, as we ran through virtually every aspect of PvE content the game has to offer. Rod offered not only help in general game play, but also in character builds, strategy for attacking tough challenges, and ways to help persons make things work to fit their play styles (such as those of us who are chronic mouse button clickers). Rod also had a particular talent for figuring out how the game operated on a level far beyond most others, and that included determining the most efficient ways to make in game gold (within the rules of the game). This led to Rod regularly being burdened with a problem others would love to have: regularly having to find a way to spend 10K-20K of surplus in game gold (yes, really). Over the past 5 years Rod was part of a group of 5 of us who would play every Sunday evening. We’d take on a host of activities, while enjoying each other’s company on Discord. As Robdalf mentioned above, Rod grew as time went on, learning how to better interact with others. Although his dry wit and chronic sarcasm never diminished, his personality softened, adding to the connection we shared with him. In my communication with Rod’s sister, after his passing, it is clear that Rod’s interaction with others outside the game world mirrored his in game persona. He spent time and effort to help his family members overcome tragedies, and set up weekly family Zoom Sudoku sessions to help keep his family connections strong after enduring troubled times. As I have spoken with many others who knew Rod since getting the news of his passing, one thing has struck me as a constant: this was a man with a good heart and a true desire to help others. Rod was my cherished friend, and I miss him greatly.

I played with Random a lot in ESO during the "Lightning in a Bottle" spring/summer of 2020 when so many of us played so much because we had nothing else to do.  Our Trial Wednesdays  was something that we all looked forward to all week long and Random was a big part of that group.  We had a lot of fun, and he was a large part of that fun.  I am sorry to hear of his passing.  Godspeed Random, see you on the other side.