Ronald Edwards (born September 4, 1964) is a game designer involved in the indie role-playing game (RPG) community, and a game theorist. He created the Sorcerer role-playing game, the GNS theory of gameplay, and The Big Model. Edwards is also co-founder of The Forge, an online community to support indie RPG design and publication.

Early role-playing

Ron Edwards first started playing RPGs in 1978 when he was 14, starting with Dungeons & Dragons, which had been published four years earlier. He also tried other RPGs such as Tunnels & Trolls, Runequest, and his early favorite, The Fantasy Trip. Through high school and university, he continued to play RPGs, and entered an experimental phase in the 1980s and 1990s, playing as many as 200 different RPGs, including Champions, Stormbringer, GURPS, Rolemaster, Cyberpunk 2020, Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game and Over the Edge. He sent the finished game to an RPG publisher, who agreed to publish it and sent Edwards a standard contract, which gave the publisher control over artwork and marketing, as well as the right to revise the game later if the author does not want to revise it, and to terminate the contract whenever they decide. Edwards found the proposed contract unacceptable — inspired by indie comic creator Dave Sim, he believed that creators should be able to control their works. Ron Edwards and Sorcerer were subsequently awarded the second annual Diana Jones Award for "excellence in gaming" in 2002.

Also in 2002, Edwards was awarded an Indie RPG Award in the category "Human of the Year". His award citation reads in part "He has single-handedly done more for the indie RPG industry than anyone by helping folks get started or into the industry, promoting others' games, and generally being an amazing resource to us all [...] He is a bloody powerhouse of rock and roll game-designerdom. The man is unstoppable. He's a walking explosion of indie gaming coolness."

RPGs and supplements

  • Sorcerer
  • Sorcerer & Sword
  • The Sorcerer's Soul
  • Sex and Sorcery
  • Elfs
  • Trollbabe
  • It Was a Mutual Decision
  • Spione: Story Now in Cold War Berlin
  • S/lay w/Me
  • Circle of Hands

References

  • Adept Play: Ron Edwards’ academy and community
  • Spione: Story Now in Cold War Berlin
  • Interview at Flames Rising

Essays

  • "System Does Matter" by Ron Edwards
  • "GNS and Other Matters of Role-playing Theory" by Ron Edwards