Ray Winninger
Encyclopedia
Ray Winninger is a game designer who has worked on a number of roleplaying games, including the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
roleplaying game.
games, and Dungeons & Dragons
while looking for chess opponents at a local hobby shop/game store. He designed his first game as "a futuristic man-to-man miniatures system", and by the age of fourteen he had designed an enormous campaign world for the Dungeons & Dragons game system. His first published work was an adventure called Countdown! for FASA
's Doctor Who
role-playing game. He worked for TSR
, including work on Dungeons & Dragons, throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He designed the Underground
role-playing game for Mayfair Games
in the mid-1990s, which was set in the year 2021 and "allowed players to assume the roles of superhuman, genetically enhanced soldiers fighting a patriotic war to take their society back from a corrupt government"; when Mayfair Games withdrew much of its support of the game despite its popularity, Winninger moved onto other projects. He worked for Dragon
magazine, first taking over the "RPG reviews" column from Chris Pramas
, before moving on to "Dungeoncraft", a column for guiding Dungeon Master
s to create their own campaign worlds.
, West End Games
, Mayfair Games
, Last Unicorn Games
, and Pulsar Games. His "Dungeoncraft" column ran in Dragon
from 1999-2002, during which time he also served as a contributing editor to the magazine.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
roleplaying game.
Career
Ray Winninger was a competitive chess player as a child, and at age nine he discovered Avalon HillAvalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
games, and Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
while looking for chess opponents at a local hobby shop/game store. He designed his first game as "a futuristic man-to-man miniatures system", and by the age of fourteen he had designed an enormous campaign world for the Dungeons & Dragons game system. His first published work was an adventure called Countdown! for FASA
FASA
FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001. Originally the name FASA was an acronym for "Freedonian Aeronautics and Space Administration", a joking allusion to the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup. This tongue-in-cheek attitude was...
's Doctor Who
The Doctor Who Role Playing Game
The Doctor Who Role Playing Game was a Doctor Who roleplaying game published by FASA in 1985. The game allowed players to assume similar roles to the Doctor and his companions or as agents of the Celestial Intervention Agency.- Setting :...
role-playing game. He worked for TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, including work on Dungeons & Dragons, throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He designed the Underground
Underground (role-playing game)
Underground is a satirical "grim and gritty"-style superhero role playing game set in the near future. It was released by Mayfair Games in 1993 as a commentary on the politics and society of the early 1990s as expressed through the year 2021.-Overview:...
role-playing game for Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
in the mid-1990s, which was set in the year 2021 and "allowed players to assume the roles of superhuman, genetically enhanced soldiers fighting a patriotic war to take their society back from a corrupt government"; when Mayfair Games withdrew much of its support of the game despite its popularity, Winninger moved onto other projects. He worked for Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
magazine, first taking over the "RPG reviews" column from Chris Pramas
Chris Pramas
-Career:His works for Dungeons & Dragons include: Slavers , Guide to Hell , Apocalypse Stone , Vortex of Madness , as well as some work on the third edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide .He has also done work for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.He quit Wizards of the Coast in 2000 to...
, before moving on to "Dungeoncraft", a column for guiding Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
s to create their own campaign worlds.
Works
Ray Winninger has worked for TSRTSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, West End Games
West End Games
West End Games was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania...
, Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
, Last Unicorn Games
Last Unicorn Games
Last Unicorn Games was a games publisher that was eventually absorbed by Wizards of the Coast.Last Unicorn developed the collectible card games Dune and Heresy: Kingdom Come as well as the 2000 role-playing game Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium...
, and Pulsar Games. His "Dungeoncraft" column ran in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
from 1999-2002, during which time he also served as a contributing editor to the magazine.