Steve Perrin

[Raleel]

Vale and farewell, Steve Perrin (1946 - 2021)

Vale and farewell, Steve Perrin! By Rick Meints, Chaosium President

www.chaosium.com

I was not actually aware he was a founding member of the SCA, which I participated in when I was younger.

 

[Luca]

Another giant goes.

 

[raniE]

Sad news. I've been playing BRP games most of my life. I owe a lot of hours of fun to Steve Perrin.

 

[Vile Traveller]

I was not actually aware he was a founding member of the SCA, which I participated in when I was younger.

I've been a fan since discovering in RuneQuest rules in the early 80s, and was surprised when much later I found out about the Perrin Conventions. Still later, when reading early edition PDFs of Alarums & Excursions, I was yet again surprised by how early an influencer he was. Steve was definitely one of the unsung heroes of the industry.

 

[Ravenswing]

Luca took my words: a gaming great lost. Rest well, sir.

 

[AsenRG]

I owe a lot of hours of fun to Steve Perrin.

Same here - and may he rest in peace!

And may I add...as a HEMAist (possibly lapsed one...), I don't think HEMA would have existed without the SCA being first, so I actually owe him several hundreds/over a thousand hours more, that I'd not realized!

 

[TristramEvans]

Losing him and Greg Stafford - it definitely seems like the end of an era, they were the heart and soul of Chaosium

 

[Endless Flight]

He lived to be 75. I’d take that. Sounds like he had a pretty good life. Rest In Peace, Mr Perrin.

 

[Paragon]

A friend for decades, a great designer, and a fine man. I'll miss him terribly.

 

[Acmegamer]

Damn, that really bites. Oddly I was just talking about him this morning with my wife. I'd mentioned that while I've always had favorite mechanics systems I am at heart a dabbler and explorer of game mechanics which means I pick up a lot of systems to check out. How Steve figures in is that I was mentioning that I feel bad when I don't recall a creators name. Often I do but not always. Sometimes it's just the years that make me forget and the many game systems and supplements.

I mentioned to her that many knew who Greg Stafford was, but often someone like Steve Perrin they couldn't name. I also mentioned a few other examples to her as well. Anyhow he definitely was a giant who helped formed what we do today. RIP Steve Perrin and thanks for the fun and memories that you helped create.

 

[T. Foster]

This is very sad news. I corresponded with him by email quite a bit back in the 90s when I was heavily into RuneQuest, and he even invited me to join his game group but I didn’t have a car at the time and the distance was too far. I finally did meet him in person when he drove up to attend one of the SoCal MiniCons I helped organize (the 2011 one, IIRC) but I didn’t get play in his game, which ran simultaneously with my own. He always seemed like a nice, down-to-earth guy who loved fantasy and playing games and wasn’t too full of himself, and was willing to chat and “talk shop” in an open and non-condescending way even with someone 30 years younger.

The RuneQuest/BRP system was his great achievement and marks him as one of the most important figures in the early history of the hobby. Greg Stafford overshadows him because of Glorantha (and because Greg was the founder and public face of Chaosium) but even there I think people undersell the extent to which Perrin’s contributions (RQ and much of the detail around Pavis and the Big Rubble) made Glorantha accessible to a mass audience in a way that Stafford’s more abstract and mystical treatment hadn’t. He also wrote some mostly pretty forgettable stuff for TSR as a freelancer in the late 80s, but RQ and his Pavis campaign are what he will be remembered and celebrated for.

 

[zanshin]

For my early roleplaying years Runequest was the perfect marriage of system and setting. Thank you for the joy you brought me Steve, rest in peace.

 

[Bunch]

Wierd. I always knew his name vs Stafford. He and Sandy Peterson seemed to be Chaosium to me.

 

[Trippy]

Basically, Steve Perrin was the game designer of the BRP mechanics. Major figure in game design.

Best wishes to the family and friends.

 

[Voros]

This is very sad news. I corresponded with him by email quite a bit back in the 90s when I was heavily into RuneQuest, and he even invited me to join his game group but I didn’t have a car at the time and the distance was too far. I finally did meet him in person when he drove up to attend one of the SoCal MiniCons I helped organize (the 2011 one, IIRC) but I didn’t get play in his game, which ran simultaneously with my own. He always seemed like a nice, down-to-earth guy who loved fantasy and playing games and wasn’t too full of himself, and was willing to chat and “talk shop” in an open and non-condescending way even with someone 30 years younger.

The RuneQuest/BRP system was his great achievement and marks him as one of the most important figures in the early history of the hobby. Greg Stafford overshadows him because of Glorantha (and because Greg was the founder and public face of Chaosium) but even there I think people undersell the extent to which Perrin’s contributions (RQ and much of the detail around Pavis and the Big Rubble) made Glorantha accessible to a mass audience in a way that Stafford’s more abstract and mystical treatment hadn’t. He also wrote some mostly pretty forgettable stuff for TSR as a freelancer in the late 80s, but RQ and his Pavis campaign are what he will be remembered and celebrated for.

I quite like his TSR work, of course Runequest was his masterpiece but Under Illefarn remains a great starter adventure I used more than once, Dreams of the Red Wizards is a strong setting supplement that can be ported to other settings if you want an evil nation of wizards and Fires of Dis is a wildly imaginative Planescape adventure, one of the best for the setting.

 

[philig]

I never met him, only wrote him a letter once, but this feels like a personal loss. I owe him for hours of joy playing Runequest and Stormbringer. Not only did he lay the foundation for every BRP derived game with his work on Runequest, he had a major effect on how D&D was played in the '70s and afterwards by publishing the Perrin Conventions. His rules always combined realism with elegance. Sit tibi terra levis.

 

[Vile Traveller]

His Worlds of Wonder remains my favourite system that could have been Chaosium's version of GURPS if it had gotten any further support.

 

[philig]

His Worlds of Wonder remains my favourite system that could have been Chaosium's version of GURPS if it had gotten any further support.

That's a great tribute to Steve you've written on your site, Vile! I love that picture of him & Luise in their SCA finery.

 

[Acmegamer]

That's a great tribute to Steve you've written on your site, Vile! I love that picture of him & Luise in their SCA finery.

Agreed, what a great write up. Vile

 

[ORtrail]

His Worlds of Wonder remains my favourite system that could have been Chaosium's version of GURPS if it had gotten any further support.

Sad news indeed.

Yeah, the majority of my gaming hours have been spent using some form of BRP rules. Such a flexible game system, and the WoW box set remains one of my prized RPG possessions.

 

[robertsconley]

We lost a titan of the RPG hobby and industry. Sad news indeed.

 

[Paragon]

Steve also did a lot of peripheral contribution to Champions; he was, if anything, more of a supers guy than a fantasy guy.

The way I phrased it elsewhere is "When they talk about the giants people stand on the shoulders of, he was one of those giants."

 

[CRKrueger]

I quite like his TSR work, of course Runequest was his masterpiece but Under Illefarn remains a great starter adventure I used more than once, Dreams of the Red Wizards is a strong setting supplement that can be ported to other settings if you want an evil nation of wizards and Fires of Dis is a wildly imaginative Planescape adventure, one of the best for the setting.

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Under Illefarn is how I kickstarted one of my Realms groups, it’s a great module. Dreams of the Red Wizards was an excellent Realms supplement.

Being the designer of the Perrin Conventions and then Runequest of course speaks for itself. Another Titan has fallen.

 

[ffilz]

Steve will definitely be missed. While Greg was definitely the more visible person, Steve clearly had a major role (though I'm not sure back in the day I understood how much the rules were his). I was definitely aware that there were two house Glorantha campaigns, Greg's and Steve's, in part due to their mention in the APAs. Steve and Greg contributed the only RPG I have played/ran in every decade since it came out in 1978 (D&D took a break during the 90s), and in fact, I still run 1978 RQ1 and have never ran any other edition (though I have borrowed some of RQ2, and even a few bits from RQ3).

 

[Mankcam]

Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Greg Stafford, Sandy Petersen, Lyn Willis, Charlie Krank, Keith Herber, Larry DiTillio, and Ken St Andre...

These names took on an almost mythical sage-like quality for me in my youth, given my fondness for Chaosium's BRP system, and the amount of books I had accumulated for it. BRP easily remains one of my favourite set of game mechanics, and my old RQ2 book is a treasured artefact of mine.
It would not exist without Steve Perrin.

I have briefly conversed with Steve Perrin several times in recent years over the RQ/Gloranthan FB Group, and he was always very practical and quite friendly.

The world feels slightly darkened now that I have just found out about his passing
Another great trailblazer of our hobby gone

Vale Steve Perrin

 

[Raleel]

I must admit I wouldn’t have known any of this a decade or so ago. I played Runequest in the 90s for a while, but didn’t pay much attention to design and those sorts of things. I was also in the SCA around the same time and didn’t know of his role until after I posted this.

truly a giant who had an unknown influence on my life until much later.

 

[Bunch]

I'm currently going around making a character generator for Colonial Troopers, one of his collaborations with Thomas Denmark for OSR hard sci Fi.

 

[Winterblight]

I'm currently going around making a character generator for Colonial Troopers, one of his collaborations with Thomas Denmark for OSR hard sci Fi.

I've just finished writing a series of short scenarios for Colonial Troopers, so was quite shocked to hear this news. I never knew the man, but like most I own quite a few of the products he authored and was more than happy to write for something he was involved with. Sad days

 

[Paragon]

I must admit I wouldn’t have known any of this a decade or so ago. I played Runequest in the 90s for a while, but didn’t pay much attention to design and those sorts of things. I was also in the SCA around the same time and didn’t know of his role until after I posted this.

truly a giant who had an unknown influence on my life until much later.

Steve wasn't as loud as some people who have been important to the hobby (though he'd probably find it funny I say that, as he could have a big personality and knew it); he did a lot of work in a lot of places, but never self-promoted much, and often tended to have his work hidden in the shadow of others. I don't mean that as a critique of them, but just to note that you wouldn't be the only person who didn't realize the impact his work has had on things you enjoy.

 

[Mankcam]

Posted by George.R.R.Martin on his website:

Farewell to an Ace | Not a Blog

georgerrmartin.com

 

[Acmegamer]

Posted by George.R.R.Martin on his website:

Farewell to an Ace | Not a Blog

georgerrmartin.com

Ugh, so his death might have been preventable. As an aside I loved the shared Wild Cards universe and GURPS Wild Card sourcebook as well. The Wild Cards books were like Thieves' World books for entertainment value of the shenanigans the authors would be up to.

 

[Bunch]

Ugh, so his death might have been preventable. As an aside I loved the shared Wild Cards universe and GURPS Wild Card sourcebook as well. The Wild Cards books were like Thieves' World books for entertainment value of the shenanigans the authors would be up to.

Preventable? How so?

 

[Acmegamer]

Preventable? How so?

If he was awake and near someone I do believe that atrial fibrillation is something that can be treated on the spot. Meaning that he could have been stabilized until they got him to the hospital and then there are drugs etc to help treat that condition. That's if my memory isn't playing me wrong.

 

[Tristan]

Sleeping peacefully. Exactly how my father-in-law just passed. Can't play the "if" game, you'll drive yourself crazy.

 

[Mankcam]

Atrial fibrillation is a situation that can be assisted, but that's not quite the same as it being preventable.
It's an irregular heart beat, which can be helped by various medications and such. The concern is that it can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath, and sometimes onto heart clots, and ultimately cardiac arrest.
In any case if anyone passes in their sleep, heart attack or something else, then that is not too bad; there are much more distressing ways to go.

But Steve Perrin was still too young to depart this world.
I am sure he will be missed by those close to him, as well as respected by many more he never knew.

 

[Paragon]

Ugh, so his death might have been preventable. As an aside I loved the shared Wild Cards universe and GURPS Wild Card sourcebook as well. The Wild Cards books were like Thieves' World books for entertainment value of the shenanigans the authors would be up to.

The problem with atrial fibrillation, is often people don't realize they're in one. Particularly with PAF, that's an invitation for a big ole clot when they drop out of it. I've always been glad that my own bouts are A) Infrequent and )B To me absolutely freakin' obvious (I always feel like there's some small animal jumping around in my chest). But I'm clearly not most people.

On the other hand, since I know he'd had a bought of hospitalization earlier in the year, and remember he mentioned arrhythmia, he may have already been on a blood thinner, in which case there wasn't much more likely to have been done unless he as already in a hospital (and that's not bloody likely right now) when it happened.

 

[Paragon]

But Steve Perrin was still too young to depart this world.
I am sure he will be missed by those close to him, as well as respected by many more he never knew.

In most circumstances, I'd be able to at least go "He was 75; he was pretty much on the clock." But he had a family history of longevity, so everyone (including him) expected him to be around for at least a few more years.