Merle Martin Rasmussen is an American game designer and writer known for creating the espionage

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

'' Top Secret''.Rasmussen, M. W. (1981). ''Top Secret Espionage Role Playing Game'', second ed. Lake Geneva: TSR, Inc.

Education

Merle Rasmussen graduated from high school in

Underwood, Iowa Underwood is a town in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 954 at the time of the 2020 census. History Underwood is located in Norwalk Township, so the early history of the township is also of the town. The historical ...

in 1975 and began classes to become a civil engineer (later a pre-professional medicine major) at Iowa State University that same year.

Career

In his Iowa State dormitory in 1975, Rasmussen began to develop and playtest an espionage simulation with his friends, and the next year he wrote to TSR to see if the game could be published; he received a response letter from Mike Carr wishing to review the game, and by the next year the simulation had the working title of '' Top Secret'', which was eventually accepted for publication in 1978.

Allen Hammack Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univ ...

is assigned to the project as an editor, and Hammack worked with Rasmussen on rules clarifications and editing, and the game saw print by the end of February 1980. He also continued to work on the graveyard shift as an orderly in a Council Bluffs hospital and as a production technician in the Media Production Department of an educational agency in Southwest Iowa. He was also the President of Game Room Productions, Ltd., in Minden, Iowa since June 1979. Rasmussen's ''Top Secret'' (1980) was the sixth role-playing game published by TSR, and it was also the first espionage role-playing game ever published. Jackie and Merle Rasmussen wrote a two-part adventure, "Tortles of the Purple Sage", featured in '' Dungeon'' #6 (July/August 1987) and #7 (September/October 1987). Rasmussen has also authored several other role-playing game related titles such as ''

Ghost of Lion Castle ''Ghost of Lion Castle'' is a 1984 adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Its module code is BSOLO, and it was written by Merle M. Rasmussen with cover art by Bob Maurus. Plot summary ''Ghost of Lion Castle'' ...

'', ''

Midnight on Dagger Alley ''Midnight on Dagger Alley'' is a solo adventure module for the first ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' edition of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published in 1984 by TSR, Inc. Plot summary ''Midnight on Dagger Alley'' is ...

'', ''

Quagmire! ''Quagmire!'' is a 1984 adventure module for the Expert Rules of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Plot summary In the beginning of this adventure, the player characters set off in search of the city of Quagmire. The charact ...

'', ''

The Savage Coast ''The Savage Coast'' is an adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. It was published by TSR in 1985, and designed by Merle and Jackie Rasmussen and Anne C. Gray. Its graphic designer is Ruth Hoyer, the cover art ...

'' and ''Top Secret Companion''.

References

External links

Abebooks.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Merle M. American game designers American male writers Dungeons & Dragons game designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)