Chaosium
Greg Stafford opened the doors to his new company in 1975 from a small apartment near the Oakland Coliseum. He named this venture The Chaosium, blending the word chaos with coliseum to reflect both his living situation and his ambitions. His first project was White Bear and Red Moon, a fantasy war game set within his own created world of Glorantha. This board game laid the foundation for everything that followed over the next few decades. By 1978, the company had released Steve Perrin's RuneQuest, which became one of their most enduring products. A second edition arrived in 1980 along with several supplements designed to expand the game's lore. In 1979 they tried entering the wargame market with titles like Reich Raiders and Traders but found little audience interest. Panzer Pranks also failed to gain traction despite positive reviews from critics.
Chaosium officially incorporated as an entity called Chaosium Inc. during the year 1980. That same year Greg Stafford and Lynn Willis simplified the complex rules of RuneQuest into a sixteen-page document known as Basic Role-Playing or BRP. These simulationist skill-based rules would later form the backbone of many other games including Call of Cthulhu published in 1981. In 1983 the company signed a licensing agreement with Avalon Hill to produce a third edition of RuneQuest while handling design and layout themselves. Ken Rolston managed this line under the title Rune Czar ensuring consistency across all releases. One notable milestone came in 1986 when Kerie Campbell-Robson published Hawkmoon becoming one of the first role-playing games led by a female designer. Later that year Ghostbusters appeared on shelves thanks to Sandy Petersen Lynn Willis and Greg Stafford working together. This was the first RPG to utilize dice pool mechanics which West End Games would eventually adapt for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.
The late 1990s brought significant challenges for Chaosium after the financial failure of their collectible card game Mythos. By 1998 Greg Stafford resigned from his position as president alongside Sandy Petersen though both remained shareholders. The company effectively split into various successor entities each focusing on specific product lines. Stafford took control of Glorantha rights establishing Issaries Inc. to continue publishing related titles like HeroQuest later licensed to Moon Design Publications. Long-time employees Charlie Krank and Lynn Willis stayed behind managing Call of Cthulhu as the primary product line until Lynn retired due to poor health in 2008 before passing away in 2013. These years marked a period where stability seemed impossible despite strong creative output.
Stafford and Petersen returned to active roles at Chaosium in June 2015 following delays fulfilling Kickstarter rewards for the seventh edition of Call of Cthulhu. Charlie Krank subsequently left the company allowing new leadership to take shape. Later that year at Gen Con 2015 they announced Moon Design Publications had joined Chaosium ownership with four principals becoming part of the management team including Rick Meints Jeff Richard Michael O'Brien and Neil Robinson. As chair of the board Stafford served as creative consultant until his death in October 2018 while Petersen continued occasional freelance work after retiring from the board in 2019. The organization closed its office and warehouse located in Hayward California ending decades-long ties to the San Francisco Bay Area. Operations moved to Ann Arbor Michigan utilizing fulfillment houses for distribution instead of maintaining physical inventory locally. Core rewards from the Call of Cthulhu seventh edition Kickstarter finally began shipping in April 2016 winning nine out of ten nominations at the 2017 ENnie Awards ceremony held during Gen Con.
After consolidating operations mid-decade Chaosium prepared itself for expansion through strategic acquisitions and new licensing deals starting around 2018. On the 11th of December 2018 Greg Stafford's King Arthur Pendragon and Prince Valiant roleplaying games returned under Chaosium ownership. Just months later on the 2nd of April 2019 the company acquired rights to the Seventh Sea product line including both second edition materials and Khitai Kickstarter backstock directly from John Wick. By the 30th of November 2019 they secured permission to produce a role-playing game based on Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London urban fantasy novels. During spring 2020 Chaosium took over distribution of English translations for Spanish fantasy game Aquelarre and French Ice Age roleplaying game Würm originally kickstarted by Nocturnal Media. They added Upwind an original title developed jointly by Nocturnal Media and Biohazard Games in February 2021. Further growth occurred when the 20th of August 2021 saw them acquire Cthulhu Britannica and World War Cthulhu previously licensed to Cubicle 7 until 2017. Finally the 26th of October 2021 marked Moon Design Publishing forming partnerships with Black Monk Games Poland creating The Chaosium Group to manage combined operations.
Chaosium began publishing non-game books primarily fiction starting in 1993 with many titles themed around H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Their first work released was Greg Stafford's King of Sartar set within his mythic world Glorantha rather than the horror genre. Cassilda's Song appeared as a 2015 anthology written entirely by women based on Robert W. Chambers' King in Yellow earning two 2016 World Fantasy Award nominations. In May 2017 award-winning author James Lowder joined as executive editor overseeing all fiction projects after serving earlier as consultant resolving payment disputes between freelancers and the company. While not published directly by Chaosium the ongoing Wild Cards superhero science fiction series originated from a long-running Superworld campaign gamemastered by George R.R. Martin alongside fellow writers who played in his game. Three magazines promoted their products over time including Wyrm's Footnotes which ran fourteen issues from 1976 through 1982 before being revived decades later by Moon Design Publications continuing numbering at issue fifteen despite thirty years passing since original publication ended.
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Common questions
When did Greg Stafford open the doors to his new company The Chaosium?
Greg Stafford opened the doors to his new company in 1975 from a small apartment near the Oakland Coliseum. He named this venture The Chaosium blending the word chaos with coliseum to reflect both his living situation and his ambitions.
What year did Chaosium officially incorporate as an entity called Chaosium Inc?
Chaosium officially incorporated as an entity called Chaosium Inc. during the year 1980. That same year Greg Stafford and Lynn Willis simplified the complex rules of RuneQuest into a sixteen-page document known as Basic Role-Playing or BRP.
Who published Hawkmoon becoming one of the first role-playing games led by a female designer in 1986?
Kerie Campbell-Robson published Hawkmoon in 1986 which became one of the first role-playing games led by a female designer. Later that year Ghostbusters appeared on shelves thanks to Sandy Petersen Lynn Willis and Greg Stafford working together.
Why did Greg Stafford resign from his position as president of Chaosium in 1998?
The late 1990s brought significant challenges for Chaosium after the financial failure of their collectible card game Mythos. By 1998 Greg Stafford resigned from his position as president alongside Sandy Petersen though both remained shareholders.
When did operations move to Ann Arbor Michigan ending ties to the San Francisco Bay Area?
Operations moved to Ann Arbor Michigan utilizing fulfillment houses for distribution instead of maintaining physical inventory locally when the organization closed its office and warehouse located in Hayward California. This occurred later that year at Gen Con 2015 following delays fulfilling Kickstarter rewards for the seventh edition of Call of Cthulhu.
What date did Moon Design Publishing form partnerships with Black Monk Games Poland creating The Chaosium Group?
The 26th of October 2021 marked Moon Design Publishing forming partnerships with Black Monk Games Poland creating The Chaosium Group to manage combined operations. This final growth step followed acquisitions of Cthulhu Britannica and World War Cthulhu earlier that month.