Chaosium

Chaosium Inc. is one of the oldest publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Established by Greg Stafford in 1975, its first title was the board game White Bear and Red Moon (later renamed Dragon Pass), set in Stafford's fictional fantasy gaming world of Glorantha. Over the years Chaosium has published many acclaimed and award-winning games. These include the roleplaying games RuneQuest, set in Glorantha, and Call of Cthulhu, based on the stories of H.P. Lovecraft.

Many notable RPG authors have written material for Chaosium, including Steve Perrin, Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis, Ken Rolston, Keith Herber, Charlie Krank, David Conyers, Ken St. Andre, Robin Laws, Jonathan Tweet, and David A. Hargrave.

History

Greg Stafford founded "The Chaosium" in 1975 to publish his board game White Bear and Red Moon. He derived the name partly from his home, which was near the Oakland Coliseum, combining "coliseum" with "chaos."

In 1978 Chaosium published Steve Perrin's roleplaying game RuneQuest, set in Stafford's mythic fantasy setting Glorantha, following up with a second edition in 1980 and various supplements over the next six years.