Ken Rolston is an American computer game and

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

game designer best known for his work with

West End Games West End Games (WEG) was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York City, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Its product lines included ''Star Wars'', ''Paranoia' ...

and on the computer game series ''

The Elder Scrolls ''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of action role-playing games, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...

''.

Tabletop role-playing games

Ken Rolston began working as a professional games designer in 1982. Rolston spent twelve years as an award-winning designer of tabletop role-playing games. His credits include games and supplements for ''

Paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

'', ''

RuneQuest ''RuneQuest'' (commonly abbreviated as RQ) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson (game designer), Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford (game designer), Gre ...

'', '' Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay'', ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...

'', and ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

''.: February 13, 2007, press release Ken Rolston worked as a writer on ''

Basic Role-Playing ''Basic Role-Playing'' (''BRP'') is a tabletop role-playing game which originated in the ''RuneQuest'' fantasy role-playing game. Chaosium released the ''BRP'' standalone booklet in 1980 in the boxed set release of the second edition of ''RuneQ ...

'' for

Chaosium Chaosium Inc. ( ) is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford (game designer), Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include ''Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game), Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fic ...

. Rolston also worked on the '' Stormbringer'' and ''

Superworld ''Superworld'' is a superhero-themed role-playing game published by Chaosium in 1983 that uses the generic ''Basic Role-Playing'' rules system. The game began as just one part of the '' Worlds of Wonder'' product before being published as a sta ...

'' lines for Chaosium. Rolston joined the ''Paranoia'' team as its fourth creator soon after he was hired at

in 1983, and he was responsible for adding atmosphere to the rules written by Greg Costikyan, the results of which were published at GenCon in 1984. Rolston wrote a complete manuscript for a magic system for

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer (game), Warhammer'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake ...

to use in '' Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay'', but they rejected it; the manuscript by Rolston spent years circulating on the internet instead. Rolston left West End Games when Scott Palter decided to move the company from New York to rural Honesdale, Pennsylvania in 1988. Chaosium stopped producing material for ''RuneQuest'' through

Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...

in 1989, but they returned to ''RuneQuest'' in 1992 with Rolston as editor. Rolston started the "''RuneQuest'' Renaissance" with his first publication in the line being '' Sun County'' (1992) from '' Tales of the Reaching Moon'' contributor Michael O'Brien . Avalon Hill dropped Rolston as a staff member in 1994, keeping him on as a freelancer; his last two books ''Strangers in Prax'' and ''Lords of Terror'' were published that year, and he went on afterwards to work at a multimedia company. Rolston also was winner of the H. G. Wells Award for Best Role-playing Game, Paranoia, 1985, and served as role-playing director for West End Games, Games Workshop, and Avalon Hill Game Company. In 2016, Rolston joined Mongoose Games to assist in editing a new edition of Paranoia, which was Kickstarted in 2014, in order to "hit all the right notes for both veteran players and newbies alike."

Video game industry

Rolston was the lead designer for Bethesda's role-playing game '' The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'', its expansions and was also lead designer for '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion''. From 2007 he was lead designer for two Big Huge Games projects, both of which were canceled in 2009.: Status update Rolston went on to be the lead creative visionary for '' Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning'', a single player RPG designed by Big Huge Games, a Baltimore subsidiary of

38 Studios 38 Studios, LLC was an American video game development studio and publisher based in Providence, Rhode Island. The company was founded in Maynard, Massachusetts, in 2006 as Green Monster Games by baseball player Curt Schilling. Schilling's go ...

Selected works

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolston, Ken American board game designers American video game designers Bethesda Softworks employees Chaosium game designers Dungeons & Dragons game designers Living people New York University alumni Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game designers Year of birth missing (living people)