Lynn Willis | |
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| Born | United States |
| Died | January 18, 2013 United States |
| Occupation(s) | Game designer, writer |
Lynn Willis (died January 18, 2013) was awargame androle-playing game designer, best known for his work withMetagaming Concepts,Game Designers' Workshop (GDW), andChaosium.
Willis began by designingscience fiction wargames for Metagaming Concepts, starting withGodsfire in 1976.[1]: 78 He designed theMicroGamesOlympica (1978) andHoly War (1979).[1]: 79 Chaosium publishedLords of the Middle Sea (1978),[1]: 82 and Willis joined Chaosium in 1978.[1]: 83 GDW publishedBloodtree Rebellion (1979). Willis's relationship with Chaosium proved the most enduring; he would turn to role-playing games. He helped founderGreg Stafford trim and refine theRuneQuest rules intoBasic Role-Playing, the rules that would serve as the base for many of Chaosium's RPG lines.[1]: 85 He wrote theCall of Cthulhu campaignTheMasks of Nyarlathotep (1984) withLarry DiTillio.[1]: 86 He was included in the design credits forWorlds of Wonder (1982) and theRingworld RPG (1984).
With other members of Chaosium, he co-wrote theGhostbusters RPG forWest End Games, which won theH.G. Wells Award for Best Role-playing Rules of 1986.[2] Willis co-designed the fifth edition ofCall of Cthulhu withSandy Petersen, and whenKeith Herber departed from Chaosium in 1994, Willis replace him as the editor of theCthulhu line.[1]: 90 He worked with Petersen again for the sixth edition ofCall of Cthulhu.[3] Willis created the gameElric! with Richard Watts as a newBasic Role-Playing version ofStormbringer.[1]: 91 After Greg Stafford left the company in 1998, Willis stayed on with Chaosium as its editor-in-chief.[1]: 94
Willis left Chaosium in late 2008 due to ill health; at the time, he was the longest serving employee at Chaosium, having 30 years of experience with the company.[1]: 95
On September 11, 2008, the President of Chaosium,Charlie Krank, informed the public that Willis had been diagnosed withParkinson's disease.[4] Willis died on January 18, 2013.[5][6]
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