Greg Stafford
USA- Biography of Greg Stafford
- Game Design and Publishing
- The Birth of Glorantha
- Preferred Game: Pendragon
- Shamanism and Writing
Biography of Greg Stafford
Greg Stafford is an American game designer, publisher, and shaman. His interest in role-playing games and fantasy grew from his youthful fascination with mythology. As a teenager, he read everything he could find on the subject and when he exhausted the resources of local libraries, he began writing stories himself. In 1966, Stafford was a freshman at Beloit College, which is considered the birthplace of the world of Glorantha.
Game Design and Publishing
Stafford is best known as the creator of the fantasy world of Glorantha. However, he is also a prolific game designer. He has been involved in the creation of tabletop role-playing games including 'Pendragon', 'RuneQuest', 'Ghostbusters', 'Prince Valiant', and 'HeroQuest'. He was also the founder of game publishing companies 'Chaosium' and 'Issaries'. Stafford worked on games such as 'White Bear and Red Moon', 'Nomad Gods', 'King Arthur's Knights', 'Elric!', and the computer video game 'King of Dragon Pass'.
The Birth of Glorantha
Stafford's interest in role-playing games and fantasy was born out of his youthful fascination with mythology. As a teenager, he read everything he could find on the subject and when he exhausted the resources of local libraries, he began writing stories. In 1974, Stafford came up with the concept of 'White Bear and Red Moon', a board game about the fierce struggle between several cultures in Dragon Pass, one of the regions of Glorantha. The game was based on the conflict between the barbarian Kingdom of Sartar and the invasion of the Lunar Empire, which remains a central theme in Glorantha's stories.
Unable to find a publisher, Stafford founded his own publishing company, 'Chaosium', in November 1975. At the time, the game 'Dungeons & Dragons' and the concept of role-playing games were gaining immense popularity. Players also wanted to use the setting of 'White Bear and Red Moon' in their own games, so 'Chaosium' published 'RuneQuest' in 1978, a game written by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, and other authors. However, 'RuneQuest' took place in the same Glorantha universe.
Preferred Game: Pendragon
Despite his work on the Glorantha universe being the main part of his professional life, Stafford considers his best game, his masterpiece, to be 'Pendragon', an Arthurian knight role-playing game that was released in 1985 by Chaosium and later reissued twenty years later by White Wolf. Stafford received the prestigious Diana Jones Award in 2007 for the development of 'Pendragon'. In 1999, 'Pyramid' magazine included Greg Stafford among the most influential people of the millennium in the field of adventure games.
Shamanism and Writing
Interestingly, Greg Stafford is a practicing shaman and serves on the board of directors of 'Shaman's Drum', a journal dedicated to experimental shamanism. He has published several short articles on King Arthur. Recently, Stafford spent a year and a half in Mexico, teaching English as a foreign language and exploring archaeological and shamanic places of interest. Over the years, Stafford has written a series of novels set in Glorantha. He is known to be working on 'Harmast's Saga', 'Arkat's Saga', and an untitled novel about the Lunar Empire. Currently, he is finishing the first part of 'Harmast's Saga'. Additionally, Stafford was one of the developers of the video game 'King of Dragon Pass', which is also based on the world of Glorantha.
