Cam Banks is a game designer known for his work on the

Cortex System The Cortex System is a collection of related roleplaying games. Its most recent iteration, ''Cortex Prime,'' was designed by Cam Banks and initially published by Fandom Tabletop, then acquired by Dire Wolf Digital. Prior versions appeared in th ...

line of roleplaying games as lead designer for ''

Marvel Heroic Roleplaying ''Marvel Heroic Roleplaying'' (abbreviated as ''MHR'' or ''MHRP'') is the fourth role-playing game set in the Marvel Universe published by Margaret Weis Productions under license from Marvel Comics (after ''Marvel Super Heroes RPG'', ''Marvel Supe ...

'', and the ''Big Damn Heroes Handbook'' supplement to the ''

Serenity Role Playing Game ''Serenity Role Playing Game'' is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game released in 2005 and set in the universe of the movie '' Serenity'' and the television series ''Firefly''. It was produced by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, and its m ...

'', among other titles. He is the Cortex Creative Director for Fandom Tabletop, the publishers of '' Cortex Prime''.https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/44087/fandom-acquires-cortex-rpg-rules-system Fandom Acquires Cortex RPG Rules System and Hires Cam Banks

Career

Cam Banks and

Christopher Coyle Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...

wrote a new campaign saga for

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving i ...

that was produced by

Sovereign Press Sovereign Press, Incorporated is a publisher and distributor of role-playing games based in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1998 by Margaret Weis and Don Perrin and is one of two companies that Weis owns. Games produced Sovereign P ...

in three parts: ''Key of Destiny'' (2004), ''Spectre of Sorrows'' (2005) and ''Price of Courage'' (2006). The series totaled 730 pages and covered the major events that occurred in the Age of Mortals. His first novel was published in 2007. He wrote the 2008 Dragonlance novel '' The Sellsword''. Banks was later the

line editor for

Margaret Weis Productions Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. is a games publisher located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States and founded in 2004 after Margaret Weis and Don Perrin, the two founders of Sovereign Press, divorced. Games Margaret Weis Productions is p ...

, and in 2010 the system was renovated into the

Cortex Plus The Cortex Plus System is a toolkit RPG system that evolved from Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd's Cortex System. It has been used for four published games and one published preview to date, and the design principles are in the ''Cortex Plus Hac ...

system. Banks was the line developer for the ''

Smallville Roleplaying Game The ''Smallville Roleplaying Game'' is a superhero-themed role-playing game published in 2010 by Margaret Weis Productions, set in the universe of the television series ''Smallville''. Players may take the roles of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, other ...

'' (2010), which he co-designed with indie game publisher Josh Roby. Banks co-designed '' Leverage: The Roleplaying Game'' (2011) with Rob Donoghue, Clark Valentine, and others. A native of New Zealand, Banks lives in

St Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, where he has been working as a brand manager and production specialist for

Atlas Games Atlas Games is a company which publishes role-playing games, board games and card games. Its founder and current president is John Nephew. History When Atlas Games did not have the finances to publish '' On the Edge'' (1994), they partnered with J ...

since February 2013. Before this he was a line developer at

, where he led the development of the ''

'', '' Leverage: The Roleplaying Game'', and ''

'' in addition to continuing with Margaret Weis' historical properties, leading the development of the ''Big Damn Heroes'' supplement for the ''

'', and working on the

setting. On November 1, 2016,

released a statement announcing that Cam Banks and his new design studio

Magic Vacuum Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

had licensed the original

and

system and would be "taking over the design, development, and publishing of games based on these rules... for 2017 and beyond," coinciding with "Margaret’s retirement from RPG development to focus on her current novel and film projects." In September 2019, Fandom Tabletop acquired the rights to Cortex from MWP and hired Banks as their new Cortex Creative Director.

Bibliography

Roleplaying Games and Supplements

Cam Banks has been a freelance writer and designer for

, and a designer and line developer for

where he first produced supplements for the

games designed by

Jamie Chambers Jamie Chambers (born January 25, 1975) is an American game designer who works primarily on role-playing games, contributing in a variety of genres. He served as Vice President of the non-profit Game Manufacturers Association, a trade association ...

. Then he led the design of the

games. He is the current Cortex Creative Director with Fandom Tabletop.

Dragonlance

* Design Credits: ''Dragonlance Dungeon Master's Screen'' (2003) * Additional Design Credits: ''Age of Mortals'' (2003) * Additional Design Credits: ''Towers of High Sorcery'' (2004) * Additional Design Credits: ''War of the Lance'' (2004) * Design Credits: ''Bestiary of Krynn'' 2004 ENnie Awards: Best Art, Interior and Best Monster Supplement: Silver Awards * Author: Dragons of Krynn (2006) * Author: Bestiary of Krynn (revised) (2007) * Co-author: ''Key of Destiny'' (2004) * Co-author: ''Spectre of Sorrows'' (2005) * Co-author: ''Price of Courage'' (2006) * ''Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn'' (Updated version of the original adventures) * ''Dragonlance: Dragons of Winter'' (Updated version of the original adventures)

Cortex System Games and Supplements with Margaret Weis Productions

* Lead Designer: ''

'' supplement: ''The Big Damn Heroes Handbook'' (2009) – Origins Award: Best Roleplaying Supplement * Lead Designer: ''

Supernatural Role Playing Game The ''Supernatural Role Playing Game'' is a role-playing game by Margaret Weis Productions that was released in 2009. It is based on the television series ''Supernatural'' and was the final game to use the Cortex System. The Game Like most rol ...

'' supplement: ''Supernatural: Guide To The Hunted'' (2010)

Cortex Plus games with Margaret Weis Productions

* Lead Designer: ''

'' (2009) * Lead Designer: '' Leverage: The Roleplaying Game'' (2010) * Lead Designer: ''

Basic Game'' (2011) Origins Award: Best Roleplaying Game 2012

ENnies The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN Worl ...

: Best Roleplaying Game Silver Award * Lead Designer: ''Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Civil War Event Book Essentials Edition'' (2011) Origins Award: Best Roleplaying Supplement 2012

: Best Roleplaying Game Supplement * Lead Designer: ''Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Civil War Event Book Premium Edition'' (2011) (the same as the Essentials Edition, but containing the game rules from the Basic Set).

Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors RPG

* Game Designer and Writer: ''Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors RPG'' (2014)

Cortex Prime Games and Supplements with Fandom Tabletop

* Author, Creative Director, and Lead Designer: '' Cortex Prime Game Handbook'' (2020) * Author, Creative Director, and Lead Designer: '' Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince Roleplaying Game'' (2021) * Author, Creative Director, and Lead Designer: '' Legends of Grayskull: The Masters of the Universe Roleplaying Game'' (2021)

Books

* The Sellsword

Critical reception

As a lead designer on pre-existing products, Cam Banks was responsible for

second ever

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...

with ''Big Damn Heroes''. His ''Supernatural: Guide to the Hunted'' was applauded for the design and detail work although criticized slightly for the adherence to Supernatural's canon. After becoming line developer he ceased to use the

, instead working with members of

Evil Hat Productions Evil Hat Productions is a company that produces role-playing games and other tabletop games. They are best known for the free indie RPG system ''Fate'', '' Blades in the Dark'', and '' Thirsty Sword Lesbians'', all of which have won multiple awa ...

to produce all the new games he created using the

. Reception for the Cortex Plus games has been generally positive. Both

io9 ''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...

and RPGamer reviewed the ''

'', Banks's first game as lead designer. They praised the way the game "had the heart of an independent role playing game and focused on conflict rather than powers." Leverage: The Roleplaying Game was nominated for an Origins Award, and

won two Origins Awards and an ENnie and was praised by SF Signal for how "authentic and true to the characters the representations felt."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Cam Atlas Games people Living people New Zealand fantasy writers New Zealand editors New Zealand male novelists Role-playing game designers Year of birth missing (living people)