Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd
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Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. is a games
publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
located in
Williams Bay, Wisconsin Williams Bay is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of three municipalities on Geneva Lake. The population was 2,953 at the 2020 census. On June 22, 2024 the town was hit by an EF-1 tornado, there were no injuri ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and founded in 2004 after
Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is f ...
and
Don Perrin Don Perrin (born 1 October 1964) is a Canadian writer and former military officer. Early life and education Born in Iserlohn, Germany, Perrin grew up in Kingston, ON, Canada, McMasterville, QC, Canada, Bromley, Kent, England, and Ottawa, ON, Can ...
, the two founders of
Sovereign Press Sovereign Press, Incorporated is a publisher and distributor of role-playing games based in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1998 by Margaret Weis and Don Perrin and is one of two companies that Weis owns. Games produced Sovereign P ...
,
divorced Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
.


Games

Margaret Weis Productions is principally a producer of
Tabletop role-playing games A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...
, although it also publishes some e-books by Margaret Weis and in 2008 published the Dragon Lairds boardgame, created by James M. Ward and
Tom Wham Tom Wham (born 1944) is a designer of board games who has also produced artwork, including that for his own games. Career Early life and Guidon Games Born in Chester, Illinois, Wham worked a variety of odd jobs during his early adult life. Afte ...
. To date almost all their role-playing games have been
licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
games using either the
Cortex System The Cortex System is a collection of related roleplaying games. Its most recent iteration, ''Cortex Prime,'' was designed by Cam Banks and initially published by Fandom Tabletop, then acquired by Dire Wolf Digital. Prior versions appeared in th ...
or
Cortex Plus The Cortex Plus System is a toolkit RPG system that evolved from Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd's Cortex System. It has been used for four published games and one published preview to date, and the design principles are in the ''Cortex Plus Hac ...
. In 2006, it took over production of Dragonlance d20 supplements from
Sovereign Press Sovereign Press, Incorporated is a publisher and distributor of role-playing games based in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1998 by Margaret Weis and Don Perrin and is one of two companies that Weis owns. Games produced Sovereign P ...
. Both companies are run by many of the same people, and both are owned by
Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is f ...
.


Cortex System games

MWP's first game was the '' Serenity'' in late 2005 to coincide with the release of
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...
's feature film '' Serenity''. Due to licensing issues they couldn't use any of the characters that appeared exclusively in the television series ''
Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
''. The company received a Gamer's Choice Best Roleplaying Game of the Year
Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...
and the Gold Medal in the Best Production Values of the 2006
ENnie Awards 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 ...
for this game. Two ''Serenity'' supplements have won Origins Awards for Best Roleplaying Game Supplement: ''Serenity Adventures'', in 2009, and ''Big Damn Heroes Handbook'', in 2010. In 2007 Margaret Weis Productions published the Battlestar Galactica role playing game, following it with Demon Hunters in 2008 and
Supernatural Role Playing Game The ''Supernatural Role Playing Game'' is a role-playing game by Margaret Weis Productions that was released in 2009. It is based on the television series ''Supernatural'' and was the final game to use the Cortex System. The Game Like most rol ...
in 2009.


Cortex Plus games

In 2010 Margaret Weis Productions published the
Smallville Roleplaying Game The ''Smallville Roleplaying Game'' is a superhero-themed role-playing game published in 2010 by Margaret Weis Productions, set in the universe of the television series ''Smallville''. Players may take the roles of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, other ...
using the new
Cortex Plus The Cortex Plus System is a toolkit RPG system that evolved from Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd's Cortex System. It has been used for four published games and one published preview to date, and the design principles are in the ''Cortex Plus Hac ...
system, which won the Judges Spotlight award at the 2011 Ennies. This was followed in 2011 with the Leverage: The Roleplaying Game RPG, nominated for the 2011 Origins Award for best RPG. In February 2012, Margaret Weis Productions launched
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying ''Marvel Heroic Roleplaying'' (abbreviated as ''MHR'' or ''MHRP'') is the fourth role-playing game set in the Marvel Universe published by Margaret Weis Productions under license from Marvel Comics (after ''Marvel Super Heroes RPG'', ''Marvel Supe ...
, the fourth licensed role playing game in the
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
.
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying ''Marvel Heroic Roleplaying'' (abbreviated as ''MHR'' or ''MHRP'') is the fourth role-playing game set in the Marvel Universe published by Margaret Weis Productions under license from Marvel Comics (after ''Marvel Super Heroes RPG'', ''Marvel Supe ...
went on to win the 2012
ENnie Award 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 ...
for Best Rules, and the silver awards for Best Game and Product of the Year. In 2013 the basic set won the
Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...
for the Best Roleplaying Game and the Civil War Event Book won Best Roleplaying Supplement. In April 2012, they announced that for economic reasons they would not be renewing the license. On November 8, 2013, Margaret Weis Productions announced that a new ''Firefly'' RPG would be available for pre-order, having previously launched a playtest version at
Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...
2013. This will use a different system from the previous Serenity RPG. It also suffers a mirror of the Serenity license in that it only licenses characters that appeared in the Firefly TV series On November 1, 2016, Margaret Weis Productions released a statement announcing that
Cam Banks Cam Banks is a game designer known for his work on the Cortex System line of roleplaying games as lead designer for ''Marvel Heroic Roleplaying'', and the ''Big Damn Heroes Handbook'' supplement to the ''Serenity Role Playing Game'', among other ...
and his new design studio
Magic Vacuum Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...
had licensed the original
Cortex System The Cortex System is a collection of related roleplaying games. Its most recent iteration, ''Cortex Prime,'' was designed by Cam Banks and initially published by Fandom Tabletop, then acquired by Dire Wolf Digital. Prior versions appeared in th ...
and
Cortex Plus The Cortex Plus System is a toolkit RPG system that evolved from Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd's Cortex System. It has been used for four published games and one published preview to date, and the design principles are in the ''Cortex Plus Hac ...
system and would be "taking over the design, development, and publishing of games based on these rules... for 2017 and beyond," coinciding with "Margaret’s retirement from RPG development to focus on her current novel and film projects." After a successful Kickstarter campaign which raised $84,430 for a new edition of Cortex, to be called 'Cortex Prime,' on May 29, 2017, it was announced on September 19, 2019, that Fandom had purchased the rights to the Cortex system from Margaret Weis publications and would be fulfilling all pledges from the crowdfunding effort.


List of games

* ''
Serenity Role Playing Game ''Serenity Role Playing Game'' is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game released in 2005 and set in the universe of the movie '' Serenity'' and the television series ''Firefly''. It was produced by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, and its m ...
'' (2005) * '' Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game'' (2007) * '' Cortex System Role Playing Game'' (2008) * ''
Demon Hunters Role Playing Game The ''Demon Hunters Role Playing Game'' is a role-playing game published by Margaret Weis Productions in 2008. History Three new Cortex System media games were published by Margaret Weis Productions, one each year between 2007 and 2009, includin ...
'' (2008, based on the films ''Demon Hunters'' and ''Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake'' by
Dead Gentlemen Productions Dead Gentlemen Productions is an independent film company based in Seattle, Washington. They have released a number of films, including the award-winning cult classic '' The Gamers'', '' The Gamers: Dorkness Rising'' and '' The Gamers: Hands of F ...
) * '' Dragon Lairds'' (2008, a board game) * ''
Supernatural Role Playing Game The ''Supernatural Role Playing Game'' is a role-playing game by Margaret Weis Productions that was released in 2009. It is based on the television series ''Supernatural'' and was the final game to use the Cortex System. The Game Like most rol ...
'' (2009) * '' Leverage: The Roleplaying Game'' (2010) * ''
Smallville Roleplaying Game The ''Smallville Roleplaying Game'' is a superhero-themed role-playing game published in 2010 by Margaret Weis Productions, set in the universe of the television series ''Smallville''. Players may take the roles of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, other ...
'' (2010) * ''
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying ''Marvel Heroic Roleplaying'' (abbreviated as ''MHR'' or ''MHRP'') is the fourth role-playing game set in the Marvel Universe published by Margaret Weis Productions under license from Marvel Comics (after ''Marvel Super Heroes RPG'', ''Marvel Supe ...
'' (2012) * '' Firefly Role-Playing Game'' (2014)


References


External links


Official site
{{Authority control 2004 establishments in Wisconsin American companies established in 2004 Companies based in Wisconsin Publishing companies established in 2004 Publishing companies of the United States Role-playing game publishing companies