Blog
'The Rise and Call of the Cthulhu Empire' timeline
Posted by Michael O'Brien on 28th Jun 2026
TTRPG historian Shannon Appelcline ('Designers & Dragons') is putting together a timeline of Cthulhu roleplaying games, The Rise and Call of the Cthulhu Empire. It charts the extraordinary success of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game in its various flavours since 1981, and the many and vario
… read more
"Roleplaying fandom is a powerful thing": RPG Historian Shannon Applecline looks at the important role of zines sustaining Glorantha
Posted by Michael O'Brien on 14th Nov 2024
"Roleplaying fandom is a powerful thing" - RPG Historian Shannon Applecline's latest Designers and Dragons column looks at the important impact and influence fanzines have had sustaining the long existence of Glorantha, setting of the RuneQuest roleplaying game. Shannon has created a detai
… read more
'The most important publication for RuneQuest and Glorantha across its more than a decade of existence' - Shannon Appelcline
Posted by Michael O'Brien on 6th Sep 2024
"Only a few fan organizations appear within the pages of Designers & Dragons. Reaching Moon Megacorp is certainly one of the most notable. Not only
did their products become professional in quality over time, but they would
also shape the entire future of their favored game line in
… read more
Out of the Suitcase #46: The Partha Pipeline still flows
Posted by Michael O'Brien on 12th Nov 2023
Chaosium President Rick Meints shares stories from a life-time as a collector of all things Chaosium.I assembled most of my Ral Partha miniatures collection in the late 1990s. Between eBay and the wonderful Leisure Games store in North London (Finchley) I purchased them all just after the Ral Partha
… read more
Unnatural Selections #71: "No doubt that RuneQuest has been deeply influential in a way that few games other than D&D itself were” - Designers & Dragons
Posted by Michael O'Brien on 23rd Apr 2023
The 'Unnatural Selections' series is our regular round up of notable Chaosium reviews worth a look.On his Designers & Dragons Facebook page, RPG historian Shannon Appelcline has been writing different "inspirational, influential, or innovative" RPGs over the course of the month, alphabetically.
… read more
"The Velvet Underground of RPGs" Advanced Designers & Dragons maps out Chaosium's interactions with the RPG industry over the decades...
Posted by Michael O'Brien on 20th Aug 2020
RPG Historian Shannon Appelcline writes:Not every company in the industry works regularly with others. ICE is an example of a company that largely went their own way, focused on their Middle-earth license and their Rolemaster system, while Hero Games regularly teamed up with other companies in the '
… read more