Steve Kenson (born June 16, 1969) is a writer and designer of

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 ...

s (RPGs) and related fiction.

Career

Steve Kenson began working as an author and game designer in 1995. Kenson co-wrote the super-hero

Silver Age Sentinels ''Silver Age Sentinels'' is a superhero role-playing game (RPG) published in 2002 by Guardians of Order, creators of ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth'', an anime-themed RPG. History Guardians of Order moved into the d20 market beginning with their new ...

'', which was published by

Guardians of Order Guardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games (RPGs). Their first game is the anime inspired ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth''. In 2006 Gua ...

in 2002. While working on ''Silver Age Sentinels'', Kenson had pitched a setting called Freedom City for the game, but Guardians of Order turned it down. When

Chris Pramas Chris Pramas is an American game designer and writer, as well as a founder of Green Ronin Publishing. He is best known as the designer of the ''Dragon Age'' RPG, ''Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay'' (second edition), and ''Freeport: The City of Adventu ...

Green Ronin Publishing Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games includin ...

asked Kenson if he would like to design a new d20-based superhero RPG, Kenson developed ''

Mutants & Masterminds ''Mutants & Masterminds'' (abbreviated "M&M" or "MnM") is a superhero role-playing game written by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing based on a variant of the d20 System by Wizards of the Coast. The game system is designed to ...

'' in 2002 and his ''

Freedom City Freedom City is a fictional, city-based campaign setting for the roleplaying game ''Mutants & Masterminds''. It was designed by Steve Kenson. Publication history Steve Kenson was working on ''Silver Age Sentinels'' and pitched Freedom City as a ...

'' setting was published in 2003. In 2004, Kenson became the line developer for ''Mutants & Masterminds'', and became a more frequent contributor to Green Ronin's products. Kenson teamed up with

John Snead John Snead is a freelance role-playing writer who lives in Portland, Oregon. He studied math and history (B.A.) and cultural anthropology (MA). He has been gaming since 1980 and became a full-time designer and writer of role-playing games in 1998. ...

to produce ''

Blue Rose A blue rose is a flower of the genus ''Rosa'' (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow. Blue roses are often used to symbolize mystery or attaining the impossible. However, beca ...

'', a

romantic fantasy Romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre. One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, ...

role-playing game published by Green Ronin in 2005. In 2007, Green Ronin published Kenson's ''Paragons'' setting for ''Mutants & Masterminds''. His most notable creation is the d20 System superhero roleplaying game ''

'' for

, which won multiple

ENnie The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World i ...

awards. He also designed

True20 ''True20'' is a role-playing game system designed by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing. The system was first published as a part of the ''Blue Rose'' RPG before being published as a standalone universal generic role-playing g ...

Adventure Roleplaying and the

campaign setting for

Green Ronin Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games includi ...

. He has written material for many RPGs, including: ''

Aberrant ''Aberrant'' is a role-playing game created by White Wolf Game Studio in 1999, set in 2008 in a world where super-powered humans started appearing one day in 1998. It is the middle setting in the greater Trinity Universe timeline, chronologica ...

'', ''

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the Victory, victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and w ...

'', ''

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

'', the '' Marvel Super-Heroes Adventure Game'', ''

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspir ...

'', ''

'', and his ''Mutants and Masterminds''. He has written nine RPG tie-in novels: seven for the original ''

'' series, one for ''

Crimson Skies ''Crimson Skies'' is a tabletop and a video game media franchise created by Jordan Weisman and Dave McCoy, first released as a board game in 1998 and then as a PC game in 2000. The series' intellectual property is currently owned by Microsoft C ...

'', and one for '' MechWarrior''. He wrote a first trilogy of ''Shadowrun'' books produced by WizKids Games after they acquired the ''Shadowrun'' property from

FASA Corporation Fasa ( fa, فسا, Fasā, also Romanized as Fassa) is a city and capital of Fasa County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 110,825, in 33,379 families. Fasa is the fourth most populous city of the province. The city date ...

: ''Born to Run,'' ''Poison Agendas,'' and ''Fallen Angels.'' In 1993, Kenson helped to found Nashua Outright, a social/support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning youth and their allies in

Nashua, NH Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester. Along with Manchester, it is a seat of New Hampshire's most populous ...

. He worked with the group as a volunteer facilitator for thirteen years. Kenson became a full-time freelance writer for RPGs in 1995. In 2004, he became a line developer for

, the publisher of ''Mutants & Masterminds'' and True20. He cowrote the ''

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

'' manual '' Exemplars of Evil'' (2007). In 2010 Kenson published '' ICONS Superpowered Role Playing'', a rules-light superhero RPG. A revised and expanded '' ICONS Assembled'' was published through Green Ronin in 2014. Icons is currently supported by Kenson's publishing mark, Ad Infinitum Adventures, and is available through DriveThruRPG.com . Kenson lives in Merrimack,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, with his partners, Christopher Penczak and Adam Sartwell.

Awards and honors

''Mutants and Masterminds'' * 2003 EN World "ENnie" Award – Best d20 Game ''Mutants & Masterminds: Ultimate Power'' * 2007 En World "ENnie" Award – Best Art, Interior * 2007 En World "ENnie" Award – Best Rules * 2007 En World "ENnie" Award – Best d20/d20 OGL Product * 2015 GamersTable Appreciation Award

References

External links

Steve Kenson's web pageSteve Kenson RPG bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenson, Steve 1969 births American gay writers Living people Role-playing game designers Role-playing game writers