Sean Patrick Fannon is an American

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

designer and writer. He has been working in the gaming industry since 1988, and is best known for his work with the ''

Savage Worlds ''Savage Worlds'' is a role-playing game written by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. The game emphasizes speed of play and reduced preparation over realism or detail. The game received the 2003 Origin Gamers' Cho ...

'' game system, including his epic fantasy setting, ''Shaintar'', and his conversion of the classic game '' Rifts''. He has also worked as a designer in the video game industry and a consultant in the film industry.

Personal life

Fannon was born on January 4, 1966, in Tennessee. He began playing role-playing games in 1977. Before becoming a successful game designer, he worked as a deputy sheriff, airline agent, and armored car driver. He attended

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

from 1984 to 1986. He currently lives in

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

Career in role-playing games

Early works

Fannon's career in the gaming industry began in 1988, writing freelance articles and reviews for small-press magazines. He then wrote multiple books for

Hero Games Hero Games (''DOJ, Inc dba Hero Games'') is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the '' Fuzion'' system. History In 1981, George MacD ...

' ''

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

'' RPG, which led to a job as the Continuity Director of the '' Champions Universe'' line. He also wrote books for the ''

Shatterzone ''Shatterzone'' is a space opera role-playing game by West End Games. The game went out of print in 1997 after the company went bankrupt. The game is now back in print, owned and published by Precis Intermedia. The universe of ''Shatterzone' ...

'' RPG and the original ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' RPG from

West End Games West End Games (WEG) was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York City, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Its product lines included ''Star Wars'', ''Paranoia' ...

and articles for '' Shadis Magazine'', '' Adventurer's Club Magazine'', and TSR's '' Dragon Magazine''. In 1995, Fannon wrote ''

The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible ''The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible'' is a book detailing fantasy role-playing games (RPGs), written by Sean Patrick Fannon and published by Prima Publishing in 1996. The book was distributed only to chain bookstores rather than hobby shops ...

'', an introduction to the role-playing hobby, for Prima Entertainment. A second edition of the book was published by Obsidian Studios in 1999. This book has been cited as a good introductory guide to roleplaying games for people that are not roleplayers. Multimedia company IEI's games division 8th Wonder Games hired Fannon in 1996 to target the role-playing games niche. Fannon was one of the staff to join new company

FASA FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargaming, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001, after which they closed publishing operations for several years, becoming an IP holding company under the name FASA In ...

as it was being put together in 2012, with his role in marketing and promotion.

DriveThruRPG

From October 2008 until 2012 Fannon worked as a Marketing and Communications Manager for DriveThruRPG where he managed communications, promotions, marketing, and business development for RPG sites. This included helping to advertise projects like their "Gamers Help Haiti" program, which raised money to donate to

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

during their effort to provide medical support to the people of Haiti following the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

. This effort raised over $175,000. He also helped DriveThruRPG begin more active support of other charities, leading to them establishing permanent accounts with

Hero Initiative The Hero Initiative, formerly known as A Commitment to Our Roots, or ACTOR, is a Nonprofit organization, not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers, and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of ...

Feeding America Feeding America is a United States–based Nonprofit organization, non-profit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other c ...

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, and

Shaintar

In 2005, ''Shaintar: Immortal Legends'' the first book set in Fannon's epic fantasy setting for

Pinnacle Entertainment Group Pinnacle Entertainment Group is a publisher of role-playing games and wargames. History Shane Lacy Hensley wanted to create a 19th-century miniatures game so he contacted the company Chameleon Eclectic to get the game published. As a result '' Fi ...

's ''

'' RPG, was published by Talisman Studios. In 2013, Savage Mojo began publishing the ''Shaintar'' line, starting with a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign for ''Shaintar: Legends Unleashed''. Two ''Shaintar'' books, ''Shaintar: Legends Arise'' and ''Shaintar: Legends Unleashed'', were nominated for

Ennie awards 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 World ...

in 2014.

Evil Beagle Games

In 2012, Fannon started his own game company, Evil Beagle Games, with Carinn Seabolt, in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

. From 2014 to 2017, Ross Watson joined the company as Managing Director. In 2017, Evil Beagle Games became an LLC, with Sean, Bill Keyes, Leonard Pimental, and Michael Surbrook forming the company. In 2020 Evil Beagle LLC was restructured and expanded, and Jennifer Shinefeld was appointed CEO.

Savage Rifts

In 2016, Fannon's Evil Beagle Games partnered with

(PEG) to produce ''Savage Rifts'', which translated

Palladium Books Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games (RPGs) best known for its '' Rifts'' series (1990–present). Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan, by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is now b ...

' classic '' Rifts'' setting to PEG's ''

'' rules. His involvement in ''Savage Rifts'' was featured in ''

WIRED Magazine ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and Online magazine, online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in public ...

'' and in a ''WIRED'' interview.

Video games

Fannon worked as a designer for

Interplay Productions Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...

(on a ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' adventure game), Vortex Media Arts (multiple titles, including a ''

Tonka Tonka is an American brand and former manufacturer of toy trucks. The company was founded in 1946 and operated as an independent manufacturer of popular steel toy construction type trucks and machinery, until its sale to Hasbro in 1991. Histor ...

'' activity game),

Infogrames Multimedia Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA ()), also known as Atari Group, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns mainly video gaming-related interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA's core subsidiaries include t ...

, 8th Wonder Games (''Drachen Zor''), and Telepathy Entertainment (''Out There'').

Honors

Fannon was the Game Designer Guest of Honor at

MomoCon MomoCon is a fan convention held on Memorial Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. From its beginning through 2011, it was held on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in its first year, MomoCon was held in the Georgia Tech Student Cent ...

2013, Gaming Guest of Honor for

ConGlomeration A conglomerate () is a type of multi-industry company that consists of several different and unrelated business entities that operate in various industries. A conglomerate usually has a parent company that owns and controls many subsidiaries, ...

in 2014, a featured guest at Cleveland ConCoction, the Gaming Guest of Honor for Con on the Cob in 2016, and 2017, a Celebrity Guest for Tacticon in 2017, a guest at Magic City Con, and a special guest at GenghisCon 2018, and at ChupacabraCon 2017. Fannon was also part of an academic panel discussion at the 2018 Denver Comic Con with Professor James Fielder, Ph.D. of United States Air Force Academy about ''Social Sciences in Worlds that Never Were: Using Fantasy and Science Fiction Literature in the Classroom''.

Bibliography

''Savage Worlds'' role-playing books

*''Savage Worlds'' **''Freedom Squadron'' ***''Freedom Squadron Commando's Manual'' ***''Freedom Squadron Plans & Operations Manual'' **''Accursed'' ***''Accursed: The Guns of Dagerov'' ***''Accursed: Ill Omens'' **''Savage Rifts'' ***''Savage Rifts: The Tomorrow Legion Player's Guide'' ***''Savage Rifts: Game Master's Handbook'' (Nominated for a 2017 ENnie award for Best Rules.) ***''Savage Rifts: Savage Foes of North America'' ***''Savage Rifts: Coalition Field Manual'' ***''Savage Rifts: Archetypes Set 1'' ***''Savage Rifts: Archetypes Set 2'' ***''A Fine Solution 1: Welcome to the World'' ***''A Fine Solution 2: The Circle of Death'' ***''A Fine Solution 3: Triangle Triad'' ***''A Fine Solution 4: Unwanted Heroes'' ***''A Fine Solution 5: Power Play'' **''Shaintar'' ***''Shaintar: Legends Arise'' (Nominated for a 2014 ENnie award.) ***''Shaintar: Legends Unleashed'' (Nominated for a 2014 ENnie award.) ***''Shaintar Immortal Legends'' ***''Shaintar Atlas'' ***''Shaintar Black Lantern Report: Camden'' ***''Shaintar Black Lantern Report: Mercenary Companies'' ***''Shaintar Black Lantern Report: Origins of the Society'' ***''Shaintar: Dwarven Clanhomes'' ***''Shaintar Adventure: The Burning Heart'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Desert Princes'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Dregordia'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Eastport'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Elvish Nation'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: The Freelands'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Galea'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Goblinesh'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Korindia'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Magic & Cosmology (Vol I)'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Malakar Dominion'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Mindoth's Tower'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Nazatir'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Olara'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Prelacy of Camon'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Serenity'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: Shaya'Nor'' ***''Shaintar Guidebook: The Wildlands'' ***''Shaintar Anthology: Southern Kingdoms'' ***''Bloody Awful'' ***''Godstrike Tempest: Shaintar/Suzerain Crossover'' ***''Flame Down Below'' **Other Savage Worlds works ***''Crossbows, Crafting, and Ka-ZOT!'' ***''Day in the Life: Gaming the Downtime'' ***''Dungeonlands: Heroes And Servitors'' ***''Enascentia: Touch of Flame'' ***''Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds edition '' ***''Fire in the Darkness'' ***''Savagely Useful: Random Magic Items''

Other role-playing games

*''Aaron Allston's Strike Force'' (revised) (Winner of a 2016 BAMFsie award.) *''

: Arsenal'' *''Shatterzone: GearTech'' *''Champions: Champions Universe, 4th edition'' *''Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema'' (Winner of a 2009 ENnie award.) *''Edge of the Empire: Suns of Fortune'' *''Shards of the Stone: Core'' *''Hero 4th edition: High Tech Enemies'' *''Hero 4th edition: The Mutant File'' *''Series Pitch of the Month: No Crowns'' *''Cracken's Rebel Operatives'' (West End's Star Wars RPG) *''Star Wars: Age of Rebellion'' *''Star Wars: Edge of the Empire''

Other works

*''A Better Game With Dice and Chips 2010'' *''Bring Dice & Chips: The Holiday Collection 2011'' *''

'' *''The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible'', 2nd edition *''So Yer Wantin' t' Talk Like a Pirate!''

References

External links

Personal sites

Sean's Pick of the Day
(blog)

Commercial and professional sites

Evil Beagle Games
(official site)
Pinnacle Entertainment
(official site)
BoardGame Geek biography site

Interviews

Geek Pride interview

Ain't It Cool News interview

d20 Radio interview

The Hardboiled GMshoe interview

Iced Jamb interview

Mythwits interview
(YouTube)
The Wild Die interview
(podcast)
BAMF interview
(podcast)
Geek's Guide to the Galaxy - Sean Patrick Fannon

Genretainment - Sean Patrick Fannon

On the Shoulders of Dwarves - Savage Worlds: Freedom Squadron, with Sean Patrick Fannon (episode 20)

Interrogation Droid: Sean Patrick Fannon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fannon, Sean Patrick American role-playing designers Living people 1966 births