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29-482: Masterbook is a generic role-playing game that was published by West End Games (WEG) in 1994. The generic rules of Masterbook , which do not have a specific campaign setting, use rules from both WEG's multi-genre role-playing game Torg (1990), and WEG's science fiction role-playing game Shatterzone (1993). Like Torg , the Masterbook system utilizes two complementary forms of in-game conflict resolution:

58-485: A box set with a copy of the MasterBook rules, a MasterBook deck, and a pair of 10-sided dice. In 2011, MasterBook was re-printed by Precis Intermedia Gaming . They are currently working on an improved second edition, called MasterBook 2E , and have released a free simplified version, called MasterBook EZ . In 2016 Precis Intermedia printed the new Bloodshadows 3rd Edition worldbook. It has conversion rules for use with

87-446: A clever use of cards." And he lauded the included card deck, which he found "inventive, fun to use, and in contrast to the rest of the rulebook, blessedly succinct." He concluded by giving the book an average rating of 4 out of 6, saying, "even with its flaws, the Masterbook system remains a solid, versatile game with strong characters and clever concepts. The designers just didn’t know when to quit." There were two core rule books. One

116-498: A consultant for Chaosium, helping the company and freelancers resolve payment and contract problems with past fiction projects. Although not published by Chaosium, the ongoing Wild Cards series of superhero science fiction originated from a long-running Superworld campaign gamemastered by Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin and his circle of fellow writers who played in his game. Three magazines have been published by Chaosium to promote its products: Chaosium won

145-572: A profound influence in popularizing the concept. It truly became a dominant subject in RPG design with the release of the Third Edition of Dungeons & Dragons (2000) and the d20 System along with the creation of the Open Gaming License (OGL). The Fuzion 5.02 rules uses the term "generic" to describe its basic ruleset as separate from its Champions and Interlock forerunners. In

174-471: A third edition of RuneQuest . Avalon Hill manufactured and marketed the game, while Chaosium was responsible for acquisitions, design, development, and layout. Ken Rolston managed the line as "Rune Czar". One of the first RPGs by a female lead designer was published by Chaosium: Kerie Campbell-Robson 's 1986 release Hawkmoon . 1986 also saw the release of Ghostbusters with West End Games . Designed by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis, and Greg Stafford, it

203-613: A unified dice mechanic, which is based on a roll of two ten-sided dice , and a game-specific deck of cards (the MasterDeck, similar to the Drama Deck in Torg ) that is used to influence random number generation, character actions, and the game's plot. Masterbook is a 176-page softcover book that was designed by Ed Stark , with interior art by Paul Daly, Jamie Lombardo, Ron Hill, Karl Waller , and Brian Schomburg, and cover art by Stephen Crane. It

232-497: Is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include Call of Cthulhu , based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft , RuneQuest Glorantha , Pendragon , based on Thomas Mallory 's Le Morte d'Arthur , and 7th Sea , "swashbuckling and sorcery" set in a fantasy 17th century Europe. Many of Chaosium's product lines are based upon literary sources. While Stafford himself has been described as "one of

261-715: The Active Exploits and MasterBook EZ rules. In the March 1995 edition of Dragon (Issue #215), Rick Swan was not enthusiastic about the rules, which he found too derivative of the rules from Shatterzone that he had roundly criticized in a previous edition of Dragon . But while Swan found the rules less complex than the original Shatterzone rules, he still found that "while less confusing [than Shatterzone , Masterbook ] can't get over its love affair with charts and numbers." He did find several strong elements, including "a well-written text, an intriguing selection of skills, [and]

290-616: The Call of Cthulhu line. Stafford served as chair of the company board and creative consultant until his death in October 2018. Since retiring from the board in 2019, Petersen has done occasional freelance work for the company, as did original RuneQuest creator Steve Perrin until his death in 2021. As part of its financial reorganization, the new management closed the company office and warehouse in Hayward, California , ending Chaosium's long association with

319-681: The San Francisco Bay Area . The company is now based in Ann Arbor , Michigan and uses a fulfillment house model for distribution of product. Delivery of the core rewards of the Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Kickstarter finally commenced in April 2016. The new edition went on to win nine of the ten awards it was nominated for at the Gen Con 2017 ENnie Awards . After the consolidation and reorganization of

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348-400: The company, along with Sandy Petersen (although they both remained shareholders). Chaosium effectively split up into various successor companies, each maintaining its focus on a few of the company's products. Stafford took the rights to his game setting Glorantha, setting up the company Issaries, Inc. to continue publishing this line (later licensing it to Moon Design Publications , along with

377-497: The company. Later that year at Gen Con 2015, Stafford and Petersen announced Moon Design Publications were now part of the Chaosium ownership, and the four principals of Moon Design ( Rick Meints , Jeff Richard, Michael O'Brien , and Neil Robinson ) had become the new Chaosium management team. Chaosium once again became the licensed publisher for RuneQuest , HeroQuest , and other products related to Glorantha and continued to publish

406-458: The earliest days of gaming to describe a system that can be used for any type or style of game. There is some dispute among role-playing enthusiasts on when the concept of a generic system originated and which was the first one published. According to Shannon Appelcline, Chaosium 's Basic Role-Playing ( BRP , 1980), was the first generic role-playing system. BRP was a "cut-down" version of Chaosium's RuneQuest role-playing game and formed

435-477: The first work published was Greg Stafford's fantasy work King of Sartar , set in his mythic world Glorantha . Cassilda's Song , a 2015 anthology based on Robert W. Chambers 's King in Yellow and written entirely by women, was nominated for two 2016 World Fantasy Awards . In May 2017, Chaosium appointed award-winning author and editor James Lowder as executive editor of fiction. Lowder had previously served as

464-536: The foundation for the Stormbringer RPG, and was also adopted for Call of Cthulhu , the first horror role-playing game. The publication of GURPS ( Generic Universal Role-Playing System , 1986) as a completely setting-independent game and its commercial and creative success added credence to the movement. The development of the Hero System (1989) from the superhero role-playing game Champions also had

493-591: The game HeroQuest ). Long-time employees and part-owners Charlie Krank and Lynn Willis remained at Chaosium as President and Editor-in-Chief respectively, continuing on with Call of Cthulhu as the main product line. Lynn Willis retired in 2008 due to poor health and died in 2013. Problems and delays fulfilling the Kickstarters for the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu led Stafford and Petersen to return to active roles at Chaosium in June 2015. Charlie Krank subsequently left

522-518: The mid-decade, the company was again poised to expand its offerings through a combination of acquisitions, new licenses, and distribution deals. Greg Stafford's King Arthur Pendragon and Prince Valiant roleplaying games returned to Chaosium ownership on December 11, 2018. On April 2, 2019, Chaosium acquired the rights to the 7th Sea product line (both Second Edition and Khitai Kickstarters) from John Wick, including back stock of books published so far. On November 30, 2019, Chaosium acquired

551-639: The most decorated game designers of all time" and "the grand shaman of gaming", multiple other notable game designers have written for Chaosium. These include David Conyers , Matthew Costello , Larry DiTillio , Paul Fricker , David A. Hargrave , Rob Heinsoo , Keith Herber , Jennell Jaquays , Katharine Kerr , Reiner Knizia , Charlie Krank , Robin Laws , Penelope Love , Mark Morrison , Steve Perrin , Sandy Petersen , Ken Rolston , Ken St. Andre , Jonathan Tweet , John Wick , and Lynn Willis , among others. Greg Stafford founded "The Chaosium" in 1975, deriving

580-547: The name partly from his home, which was near the Oakland Coliseum , combining "coliseum" with "chaos". His purpose was to publish his first board game White Bear and Red Moon (later renamed Dragon Pass ), a board game set in his fantasy world of Glorantha . In 1978, Chaosium published Steve Perrin's roleplaying game RuneQuest , also set in Glorantha, following up with a second edition in 1980 and various supplements over

609-500: The next six years. In 1980, the company officially incorporated as Chaosium Inc. That year, Stafford and Lynn Willis simplified the RuneQuest rules into the 16-page Basic Role-Playing (BRP). These simulationist , skill-based generic rules formed the basis of many of Chaosium's later "d100" RPGs, most notably Call of Cthulhu , first published in 1982. Chaosium entered into a licensing agreement with Avalon Hill in 1983 to produce

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638-538: The player for random benefits, like a bonus on a character's task roll, temporarily allowing extra actions, or granting extra Life Points. The 17 red Subplot cards are used immediately by the Game Master to create a random event or encounter. The four Picture cards (Disaster, Opportunity, Wild, and Interloper) are Wild Cards that can provide special effects that the gamemaster can tailor to their needs. The remaining 4 were two blank cards and 2 blank Picture cards. The deck

667-485: The rights to Cthulhu Britannica and World War Cthulhu , formerly produced under license by Cubicle 7 until 2017. On October 26, 2021, Moon Design Publishing announced it was forming a partnership with Black Monk Games of Poland and a new company, The Chaosium Group, was being formed to manage both. Chaosium began publishing a line of non-game books (primarily fiction) in 1993. Many titles are themed around H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and related topics, although

696-568: The rights to produce a role-playing game based on Ben Aaronovitch 's Rivers of London urban fantasy novels. In the spring of 2020, Chaosium took over distribution of the English translations of Spanish fantasy game Aquelarre and French Ice Age roleplaying game Würm , both of which had been successfully kickstarted by Nocturnal Media . In February 2021, they added Upwind , an original game kickstarted by Nocturnal Media and Biohazard Games , to that list. On August 20, 2021, Chaosium acquired

725-651: The second paragraph of the introduction to GURPS 3rd Edition the authors define "generic" as a means to satisfy players and game masters of many styles of play and feel for rules. This is repeated in the updated 4th edition rules along with acknowledgments to Champions as the first truly flexible character creation system. Some d20 derivative, such as Green Ronin Publishing 's Mutants & Masterminds and True20 Adventure Roleplaying , are presented as fully generic systems. Chaosium Chaosium Inc. ( / k eɪ ˈ ɒ s i ə m / kay- OSS -ee-əm )

754-764: Was included with the boxed sets and the other was sold separately. Apart from the cover, they were both identical. A Companion book also compiled rules from the boxed set world books. The world books were only available in their dedicated box sets. This may have had an effect on sales, due to the world books not being available separately. There were several licensed properties released using the Masterbook, but only Bloodshadows and World of Indiana Jones found success. These two were both later rewritten for West End Games D6 system , which had been adapted from their more popular Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game . Generic role-playing game The term "generic" has been used since

783-509: Was published by WEG in 1994. A limited-edition 483-page hardbound version was made that also included the World of Bloodshadows and World of Indiana Jones material in one volume. It was designed for use with the MasterBook Deck (also designed by Ed Stark), which contained a 108-card deck of playing-card size. It came in three types of effects. The 83 black Enhancement cards are handed in by

812-473: Was sold separately from the standalone rule book, but a free deck was enclosed with each worldbook box set. Expansions to the MasterDeck come with 12 blank cards and 24 Plot Development cards, which are Subplot cards that the players control that potentially could grant extra Skill Points. The Masterbook system was used for several licensed properties. It was also used for their proprietary fantasy-noir setting Bloodshadows . Each softcover worldbook came in

841-506: Was the first RPG to use the dice pool mechanic. West End would also use the system as the basis of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and, eventually, the D6 System . In 1996, it was prematurely reported that Chaosium had secured the rights to publish a collectible card game based on the video game Doom . In 1998, following the financial failure of the collectible card game Mythos , Greg Stafford resigned as Chaosium president and left

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